Campus Digest

School of Business explores the psychology of AI at power lunch

Monday, 28 April 2025

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Professor Zhang Han delivers welcome remarks.
Professor Huang Xu delves into the intriguing question of AI’s sense of self.
(From left) Mr Alex Leung, Past President of the HKBU Alumni Association; Professor Zhang Han; Professor William Leung, Chairman of the Legal Aid Services Council; and Professor Huang Xu.
The guests raise their glasses to celebrate the power lunch.

 

From self-driving cars to intelligent chatbots, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly permeating every aspect of human life. But do we really understand the “mind” behind the machine? Can AI truly think and feel? That was the central question explored at the School of Business’s biannual Business Power Lunch on 21 March. 

The event, focusing on the burgeoning field of AI psychology and its implications for the future of business, drew HKBU scholars, business leaders, senior corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and researchers, including many alumni from the School, igniting a lively intellectual discourse on the complex interplay between humans and AI.

Professor Zhang Han, Dean of the School of Business, welcomed the guests with a toast to new insights and stronger partnerships. He remarked: “In a world changing faster than ever,  understanding the psychological dimensions of AI is particularly relevant.”

Professor Huang Xu, Associate Dean (Research and Impact), made a presentation titled “Psychology of AI”. He tackled the intriguing question of whether AI can truly possess a sense of agency or self, exploring the often-experienced illusion of human-like thought and reaction when interacting with AI chatbots. He noted that while large language models can mimic human conversation, the existence of a genuine AI self remains a mystery.

He also shared insights from his team’s cutting-edge research, which observes interactions between AI agents to understand the “relational humanness” of AI. The research has profound implications for business applications, offering a glimpse into the future of AI integration in various industries.

A lively Q&A session which followed the presentation was moderated by Professor Kimmy Chan, Professor of the Department of Management, Marketing and Information Systems.