Trust in emergency response: The impact of time pressure and artificial intelligence rank

As emergency response environments become more complex and uncertain, artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to support emergency commanders' decision-making, yet there remains limited understanding of how emergency commanders use AI in real emergency contexts. Sixty-four active fire commanders completed a simulated emergency reconnaissance task involving unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) selection with AI assistance under varying levels of time pressure (with vs. without) and AI rank (superior vs. subordinate). Results showed that time pressure increased behavioral trust in AI while reducing commanders’ perceived self-capability and decision accuracy. The superior AI elicited greater behavioral trust and was associated with better overall performance, despite identical AI accuracy across conditions. The effects of time pressure and AI rank on behavioral trust were realized through comparative judgments between perceived AI capability and perceived self-capability. In addition, AI rank influenced behavioral trust through perceived responsibility. These findings clarify how time pressure and role-based cues jointly shape trust in AI during emergency response and offer insights for the design of AI decision support in high-risk, time-critical work settings.