Paper Detail

Value-Sensitive Delegation in Everyday AI Agent Use: Evidence from OpenClaw

Renkai Ma, Ruyuan Wan, Xuan Lu, Fan Yang, Chen Chen, Lingyao Li

arxiv Score 8.8

Published 2026-09-18 · First seen 2026-09-21

General AI

Abstract

Users increasingly delegate work to autonomous AI agents, yet evaluations typically measure task completion rather than the values users prioritize. Using Value Sensitive Design, we analyzed, with LLM assistance, 73,093 first-person Reddit posts about using OpenClaw, each for its human value, agent aspect, value fulfillment, and user outcome. The 21 values form six value groups, including Autonomous, Dependable, and Affordable Operation, Bounded Reach, Reviewability, and Equitable Access. Relative to each aspect's corpus share, values clustered not at the agent's outputs but at the operating conditions users set around a run. Values were usually met where users described what the agent delivered, in five of six groups, and mostly unmet where users described supervising it, in all six groups. We conceptualize this pattern as value-sensitive delegation. Supporting human values requires attention not only to what an agent accomplishes, but to the conditions users set around delegation, including cost, access, and oversight.

Workflow Status

Review status
pending
Role
unreviewed
Read priority
soon
Vote
Not set.
Saved
no
Collections
Not filed yet.
Next action
Not filled yet.

Reading Brief

No structured notes yet. Add `summary_sections`, `why_relevant`, `claim_impact`, or `next_action` in `papers.jsonl` to enrich this view.

Why It Surfaced

No ranking explanation is available yet.

Tags

No tags.

BibTeX

@article{ma2026value,
  title = {Value-Sensitive Delegation in Everyday AI Agent Use: Evidence from OpenClaw},
  author = {Renkai Ma and Ruyuan Wan and Xuan Lu and Fan Yang and Chen Chen and Lingyao Li},
  year = {2026},
  abstract = {Users increasingly delegate work to autonomous AI agents, yet evaluations typically measure task completion rather than the values users prioritize. Using Value Sensitive Design, we analyzed, with LLM assistance, 73,093 first-person Reddit posts about using OpenClaw, each for its human value, agent aspect, value fulfillment, and user outcome. The 21 values form six value groups, including Autonomous, Dependable, and Affordable Operation, Bounded Reach, Reviewability, and Equitable Access. Relati},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.22067},
  keywords = {cs.HC, cs.AI},
  eprint = {2609.22067},
  archiveprefix = {arXiv},
}

Metadata

{}