Prof. Dr. Svetlana Bialkova presented the talk “Anthropomorphic AI Agency: The User Perspective” at ReDAS (Responsible Decentralised Agentic Systems), a special session at the International Conference on Responsible Artificial Intelligence (IRAI 2026) in Melbourne.

The talk highlights recent work by Prof. Bialkova on AI agency preferred by consumers. It discusses in detail the need to find the right balance in AI systems between providing a human-like interface and one that is characteristic of machines. The talk presents results from empirical studies as well as theoretical foundations supporting a human-centred approach to building next-generation AI systems.

The invited talk is part of a special session, Responsible Decentralised Agentic Systems (ReDAS): Operationalising Responsibility and Accountability of AI Agents. The session focuses on decentralised agentic systems, where autonomous agents propose, argue, and make decisions in a decentralised environment, subject to global AI regulatory requirements and data protection legislation. While formal ethical principles are well established, there is a demand for rigorous methods for demonstrating their practical implementation. The session links theoretical developments with systems engineering, legal, and sociotechnical challenges of building verifiable Responsible AI (RAI) systems.

Featuring talks by highly recognised experts from across the globe, ReDAS attracted international researchers and practitioners from fields including agentic AI systems, complex systems, value-aligned systems, decentralised computing, AI governance, and data sovereignty.

For details visit ConsuWAIS project.