For years, the debate around AI ethics has focused on the technology itself. Is the model fair? Can it explain its decisions? Who is responsible when it makes a mistake?A European research project called AIOLIA believes the bigger question is now something else entirely: what happens to people when they increasingly rely on AI?Instead of examining AI systems alone, the Horizon Europe-funded project is studying how artificial intelligence changes the way people think, behave and make decisions. Researchers argue that this shift deserves far more attention as AI becomes part of everyday life.“The starting premise of AIOLIA is about what is the role of technology for human beings,” said Petra Saskia Bayerl, Head of Research and Professor of Digital Communication and Security at CENTRIC. “What AIOLIA does is to look at how AI shapes our behaviour and cognition.”That distinction is important because AI is no longer just another software tool.“AI is different because it increasingly takes over tasks we traditionally associated with human thinking. It can make cognitive work more efficient, automate certain decisions and identify patterns that we once considered uniquely human capabilities,” Bayerl said.AI Is Moving Beyond AutomationThe AIOLIA project is examining six real-world use cases across Europe, including healthcare, the automotive industry, human resources, national security, personal virtual assistants, and trauma and grief therapy. Researchers are also studying four international cases in Canada, China, South Korea and Japan to understand how different cultures and regulatory systems approach the same ethical questions.The aim is not simply to identify risks in AI systems. It is to understand how those systems influence the people using them.As AI takes on more cognitive tasks, researchers say it has the potential to reshape decision-making, trust and even everyday habits in ways that traditional software never did.Trust Changes Depending On Where AI Is UsedOne of the clearest findings so far is that ethical concerns are not the same in every setting.In workplaces, discussions often centre on accountability, transparency and bias. In more personal settings, such as healthcare or therapy, the focus shifts towards safety, autonomy and emotional wellbeing.Healthcare illustrates this difference clearly.“We are used to trusting human doctors to tell us whether we are ill or not. But what happens when an AI system becomes part of that decision? Can patients trust those decisions? Can doctors trust them?” Bayerl said.“These questions are fundamentally about trust. Can we transfer trust from humans to machines?”The researchers found that ethical principles such as human oversight and responsibility remain important across every sector. However, how those principles are applied depends heavily on the context. A safeguard that works for hiring decisions may not be suitable for grief therapy or medical diagnosis.Ethics Starts Before AI Is BuiltRather than offering another theoretical framework, AIOLIA focuses on practical measures that organisations can adopt.These include human oversight, documentation, monitoring, appeals processes, staff training, governance structures and regular policy reviews.The project also argues that responsibility should not rest with a single organisation. Developers, companies, policymakers, researchers and users all have a role in ensuring AI is used responsibly.For Bayerl, one question should come before every discussion about AI deployment.“The first question should actually be: do we need an AI system at all for a process?” she said.“Oversight is therefore not a single step; it is a process that starts before development and continues long after deployment.”In other words, ethics should not be treated as something added after a product is launched. It needs to be part of every stage, from deciding whether AI is necessary to monitoring its long-term impact.The Bigger Risk May Be Losing ControlThe project also looks beyond familiar concerns such as bias and transparency.Researchers are studying longer-term issues, including workforce deskilling and people’s growing dependence on AI systems.Bayerl does not believe relying on AI is automatically harmful. Humans have always depended on tools, institutions and experts to expand what they can do.The concern begins when that dependence turns into a loss of personal control.“For me, the line is crossed when people can no longer control their own behaviour,” she said.That question becomes even more important as AI systems become better at mimicking human conversations and, in some cases, building emotional connections with users. The project’s grief therapy case study explores exactly that area.Who Should Decide Where AI Stops?Ultimately, AIOLIA raises a broader question about society rather than technology.Which decisions should always remain with humans, and which ones can safely be delegated to AI?Bayerl believes that answer should not be left to technology companies.“We need to draw a line in what we don’t want AI to do. AI is fantastic; it can do a lot of fantastic things. But there are certain things we don’t want AI to do, and that is the responsibility of legislators to step in with laws and draw the line with certain issues,” she said.The AIOLIA project is expected to conclude within the next two years, but its researchers believe the conversation it has started will continue well beyond that.“AI is not only changing how we behave and think; it is also changing our ethical horizon,” Bayerl said.“The world will certainly not be the same two years after AIOLIA finishes. But that is exactly why this work matters.”FAQWhat is the AIOLIA project? AIOLIA is a Horizon Europe-funded research project that studies how AI affects human behaviour, thinking and decision-making. It covers six European use cases, including healthcare, automotive, human resources, national security, virtual assistants and grief therapy, along with four international case studies in Canada, China, South Korea and Japan.How is AIOLIA different from other AI ethics projects? Most AI ethics research focuses on whether AI systems are fair, transparent and accountable. AIOLIA shifts the focus to people, asking how AI changes human judgement, trust, behaviour and cognitive habits over time.Why is trust such an important issue in AI? The project found that trust depends on where AI is used. In workplaces, accountability and fairness are the biggest concerns. In healthcare and therapy, people are more concerned about safety, autonomy and whether they can trust AI-assisted decisions.What practical changes does AIOLIA recommend? The project recommends human oversight, documentation, monitoring, appeals processes, staff training, governance structures and regular policy reviews. It also says organisations should first ask whether an AI system is needed before deciding how to build or regulate one.What does the project say about AI dependence? According to Petra Saskia Bayerl, using AI is not the problem. The real concern begins when people lose control over their own decisions or behaviour. She argues that lawmakers, not technology companies, should decide where society draws the line.end of article