On the Usefulness of Using Current LLMs for Experimental Auction Valuation

36 Pages Posted: 12 May 2025

See all articles by Jay R. Corrigan

Jay R. Corrigan

Kenyon College - Department of Economics

Carola Grebitus

Arizona State University (ASU)

Matthew C. Rousu

Susquehanna University

Date Written: April 14, 2025

Abstract

Large language models (LLMs) are rapidly finding their way into all parts of human life. For academics the question arises how to practically and ethically make use of the technology. One aspect that researchers are starting to investigate is how LLMs can assist with data collection. We assess the usefulness of three LLMs, ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, for experimental auction valuation. We compare the bids these LLMs generate with human bids from two different auction experiments conducted in the U.S. and Germany. When providing the LLMs with experiment instructions and participants' demographic data, results show that bids generated by the different LLMs are not comparable to human bids. However, when providing 10 or 20% of the original bids as a reference, the bids generated by the LLMs closely match human bids, though results differ depending on the LLM used. Overall, our empirical tests show that LLMs can be a promising complement to human subjects but not a replacement.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence, large language models, human subject research

JEL Classification: C91, D44, C63

Suggested Citation

Corrigan, Jay R. and Grebitus, Carola and Rousu, Matthew C., On the Usefulness of Using Current LLMs for Experimental Auction Valuation (April 14, 2025). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5217193 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5217193

Jay R. Corrigan (Contact Author)

Kenyon College - Department of Economics ( email )

Gambier, OH 43022
United States
740-427-5281 (Phone)
740-427-5276 (Fax)

Carola Grebitus

Arizona State University (ASU) ( email )

HOME PAGE: http://https://search.asu.edu/profile/1981989

Matthew C. Rousu

Susquehanna University

Selinsgrove, PA 17870
United States

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