The rapid spread ofartificial intelligencehas people wondering: whos most likely to embrace AI in their daily lives?
Many assume its the tech-savvy those who understand how AI works who are most eager to adopt it.
Surprisingly, our new research (published in theJournal of Marketing) finds the opposite.
People with less knowledge about AI are actually more open to using the technology.
We call this difference in adoption propensity the lower literacy-higher receptivity link.
This link shows up across different groups, configs, and even countries.
The reason behind this link lies in how AI now performs tasks we once thought only humans could do.
Of course, AIdoesnt actually possesshuman qualities.
A chatbot might generate an empathetic response, but it doesnt feel empathy.
People with more technical knowledge about AI understand this.
This makes the technology less mysterious.
On the other hand, those with less understanding may see AI as magical and awe inspiring.
We suggest this sense of magic makes them more open to using AI tools.
This finding offers new insights intowhy people respond so differently to emerging technologies.
Our research points to perceptions of AIs magicalness as a key factor shaping these reactions.
This creates a tricky balance between helping people understand AI and keeping them open to its adoption.
To make the most of AIs potential, businesses, educators and policymakers need to strike this balance.
