The dual effect of anthropomorphism on customers’ decisions to use artificial intelligence devices in hotel services

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the impact of anthropomorphism on customers’ decisions to use artificial intelligence (AI) devices in hotels, along with other traditional predictors. The study’s model considered the co-occurrence of positive and negative effects of anthropomorphism, including social presence and identity threats, which compete to control evaluative attitudes toward AI devices. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the model using data from 363 participants. The results showed that anthropomorphism positively enhances social presence, leading to higher performance expectancy and positive emotions toward AI devices. Anthropomorphism also entails identity threats, resulting in increased effort expectancy and negative emotions. These trade-offs highlight the need for hotels to consider how customers perceive and respond to anthropomorphized AI devices during service delivery and to choose the level of anthropomorphism accordingly. This study highlights the benefits and cost trade-offs inherent in anthropomorphism and explains how they affect the evaluative attitudinal responses toward AI devices.

本研究探讨了拟人化对顾客在酒店中使用人工智能(AI)设备的决策产生的影响,同时考虑了其他传统预测因素。该研究模型考虑了拟人化的正面和负面效应的共同发生,包括社交存在感和身份威胁,它们相互竞争以控制对AI设备的评估态度。使用结构方程模型对363名参与者的数据进行分析。结果表明,拟人化积极地增强了社交存在感,从而提高了对AI设备的性能期望和积极情绪。拟人化也带来了身份威胁,导致了对AI设备的努力期望增加和负面情绪产生。这些权衡强调了酒店在考虑顾客在服务交付过程中如何感知和回应拟人化AI设备时,选择相应的拟人化程度的必要性。本研究强调了拟人化所固有的利益和成本权衡,并解释了它们如何影响对AI设备的评估态度回应。

KEYWORDS:

• technology acceptance
• artificial intelligence
• anthropomorphism
• social presence
• identity threat

Acknowledgments

This research work was funded by institutional fund projects under no (IFP-A 2022-2-2-12). Therefore, authors gratefully acknowledge technical and financial support from the ministry of education and University of Hafr Al Batin, Saudi Arabia.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: This research is supported by ministry of education and University of Hafr Al Batin, Saudi Arabia (Grant No: IFP-A 2022-2-2-12).