Human-Human-AI Triadic Programming: Uncovering the Role of AI Agent and the Value of Human Partner in Collaborative Learning

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Daryanto, Taufiq, Ding, Xiaohan, Ping, Kaike, Wilhelm, Lance T., Chen, Yan, Brown, Chris, Rho, Eugenia H.
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2026
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author Daryanto, Taufiq
Ding, Xiaohan
Ping, Kaike
Wilhelm, Lance T.
Chen, Yan
Brown, Chris
Rho, Eugenia H.
author_facet Daryanto, Taufiq
Ding, Xiaohan
Ping, Kaike
Wilhelm, Lance T.
Chen, Yan
Brown, Chris
Rho, Eugenia H.
contents As AI assistance becomes embedded in programming practice, researchers have increasingly examined how these systems help learners generate code and work more efficiently. However, these studies often position AI as a replacement for human collaboration and overlook the social and learning-oriented aspects that emerge in collaborative programming. Our work introduces human-human-AI (HHAI) triadic programming, where an AI agent serves as an additional collaborator rather than a substitute for a human partner. Through a within-subjects study with 20 participants, we show that triadic collaboration enhances collaborative learning and social presence compared to the dyadic human-AI (HAI) baseline. In the triadic HHAI conditions, participants relied significantly less on AI-generated code in their work. This effect was strongest in the HHAI-shared condition, where participants had an increased sense of responsibility to understand AI suggestions before applying them. These findings demonstrate how triadic settings activate socially shared regulation of learning by making AI use visible and accountable to a human peer, suggesting that AI systems that augment rather than automate peer collaboration can better preserve the learning processes that collaborative programming relies on.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_12134
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Human-Human-AI Triadic Programming: Uncovering the Role of AI Agent and the Value of Human Partner in Collaborative Learning
Daryanto, Taufiq
Ding, Xiaohan
Ping, Kaike
Wilhelm, Lance T.
Chen, Yan
Brown, Chris
Rho, Eugenia H.
Human-Computer Interaction
Artificial Intelligence
As AI assistance becomes embedded in programming practice, researchers have increasingly examined how these systems help learners generate code and work more efficiently. However, these studies often position AI as a replacement for human collaboration and overlook the social and learning-oriented aspects that emerge in collaborative programming. Our work introduces human-human-AI (HHAI) triadic programming, where an AI agent serves as an additional collaborator rather than a substitute for a human partner. Through a within-subjects study with 20 participants, we show that triadic collaboration enhances collaborative learning and social presence compared to the dyadic human-AI (HAI) baseline. In the triadic HHAI conditions, participants relied significantly less on AI-generated code in their work. This effect was strongest in the HHAI-shared condition, where participants had an increased sense of responsibility to understand AI suggestions before applying them. These findings demonstrate how triadic settings activate socially shared regulation of learning by making AI use visible and accountable to a human peer, suggesting that AI systems that augment rather than automate peer collaboration can better preserve the learning processes that collaborative programming relies on.
title Human-Human-AI Triadic Programming: Uncovering the Role of AI Agent and the Value of Human Partner in Collaborative Learning
topic Human-Computer Interaction
Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.12134