Assessing the acceptance of technological implants (the cyborg): Evidences and challenges

Society has already accepted the use of physical implants that increase an individual's seductive power as well as technological implants that correct physical disabilities. Various companies are currently developing technological implants to increase the innate capacity of the human body (insideables) (e.g., memory implants). Public acceptance of this new technology has not yet been investigated in academic research, where studies have instead focused on the ethical and evolutionary implications of insideables. The main aim of this study is the development of a model, namely the Cognitive-Affective-Normative (CAN) model, for assessing the acceptance of new types of technological products. The CAN model combines the cognitive variables perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, as well as the normative variable subjective (or social) norm, from the TAM models with the affective variables positive emotions, negative emotions and anxiety. The CAN model was tested on a sample of 600 randomly selected individuals through structural equation modeling. Data were obtained from a self-administered, online survey. The proposed model explains 73.92% of the intention to use the technological product in the very early stages of its adoption, that is, its early acceptance. Affective and normative factors have the greatest influence on the acceptance of a new technology; within the affective dimension, positive emotions have the greatest impact. Any technology acceptance model should thus consider the emotions that the new technology produces, as well as the influence of the social norm.