The impact of learning about AI advancements on trust

IF 10.1 1区社会学 Q1 SOCIAL ISSUES

Technology in Society Pub Date : 2025-06-02 DOI:10.1016/j.techsoc.2025.102958

Milena Nikolova , Marco Angrisani

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Abstract

We study how exposure to news about AI affects trust, compared to news about non-AI scientific progress, based on a survey experiment within a nationally representative panel in the United States (N = 1491). The results show that people trust AI advancements less than non-AI scientific developments, with significant variations across domains. The trust gap between AI and non-AI advancements is the smallest in medicine, a high-stakes domain, and largest in the area of personal relationships. The key mediators are context-specific: fear is the most critical mediator for linguistics, excitement for medicine, and societal benefit for dating. Personality traits do not affect trust differences in the linguistics domain. In medicine, mistrust of AI is higher among respondents with high agreeableness and neuroticism scores. In personal relationships, mistrust of AI is strongest among individuals with high openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness. Furthermore, mistrust of AI advancements is higher among women than men, as well as among older, White, and US-born individuals. Our results have implications for tailored communication strategies about AI advancements in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

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了解人工智能进步对信任的影响

我们基于美国一个全国代表性小组（N = 1491）的调查实验，研究了与非人工智能科学进展的新闻相比，人工智能新闻对信任的影响。结果显示，人们对人工智能进步的信任程度低于对非人工智能科学发展的信任程度，在不同领域存在显著差异。人工智能和非人工智能之间的信任差距在高风险的医学领域最小，而在人际关系领域最大。关键的中介是具体情境的：恐惧是语言学最重要的中介，兴奋是医学最重要的中介，社会利益是约会最重要的中介。在语言学领域，人格特征不影响信任差异。在医学领域，亲和性和神经质得分较高的受访者对人工智能的不信任程度更高。在人际关系中，对人工智能的不信任在开放性、严谨性和亲和性较高的人群中最为强烈。此外，女性对人工智能进步的不信任程度高于男性，在老年人、白人和美国出生的人中也是如此。我们的研究结果对第四次工业革命中人工智能进步的量身定制沟通策略具有启示意义。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Technology in Society Multiple-

CiteScore

17.90

自引率

14.10%

发文量

316

审稿时长

60 days

期刊介绍： Technology in Society is a global journal dedicated to fostering discourse at the crossroads of technological change and the social, economic, business, and philosophical transformation of our world. The journal aims to provide scholarly contributions that empower decision-makers to thoughtfully and intentionally navigate the decisions shaping this dynamic landscape. A common thread across these fields is the role of technology in society, influencing economic, political, and cultural dynamics. Scholarly work in Technology in Society delves into the social forces shaping technological decisions and the societal choices regarding technology use. This encompasses scholarly and theoretical approaches (history and philosophy of science and technology, technology forecasting, economic growth, and policy, ethics), applied approaches (business innovation, technology management, legal and engineering), and developmental perspectives (technology transfer, technology assessment, and economic development). Detailed information about the journal's aims and scope on specific topics can be found in Technology in Society Briefings, accessible via our Special Issues and Article Collections.