  Informed consent is a core cornerstone of ethics in human subject research.
Through the informed consent process, participants learn about the study
procedure, benefits, risks, and more to make an informed decision. However,
recent studies showed that current practices might lead to uninformed decisions
and expose participants to unknown risks, especially in online studies. Without
the researcher's presence and guidance, online participants must read a lengthy
form on their own with no answers to their questions. In this paper, we
examined the role of an AI-powered chatbot in improving informed consent
online. By comparing the chatbot with form-based interaction, we found the
chatbot improved consent form reading, promoted participants' feelings of
agency, and closed the power gap between the participant and the researcher.
Our exploratory analysis further revealed the altered power dynamic might
eventually benefit study response quality. We discussed design implications for
creating AI-powered chatbots to offer effective informed consent in broader
settings.
