AI’s Humanoid Appearance Can Affect Human Perceptions of Its Emotional Capability: Evidence from Self-Reported Data in the U.S

AbstractAbstractAs artificial intelligence (AI) integration becomes more prominent in society, the infosphere becomes increasingly complex. A better understanding of the human-AI relationship is crucial during these rapid technological and social changes. Emotions are complex responses of the human mind – a highly advanced information processing system. Thus, examining how humans perceive AI's emotional capability may provide helpful insights. Human physiological properties such as humanoid appearance and gender are suggested to be potential influencing factors. Following the information processing approach, we employed Bayesian Mindsponge Framework (BMF) analytics on a dataset of 266 residents of the United States. Results show that interacting with an AI agent with human-like physical features is positively associated with the belief in that AI agent's capability of experiencing emotional pain and pleasure. This effect is stronger in males than females. A possible explanation for these patterns is reliance on cognitive strategies used in interpersonal interactions, including gender-specific physiological properties. This study also demonstrates the effectiveness of using a compatible information processing analytical method such as BMF for studying humans' perceptions of AI.Keywords: Artificial intelligencehuman-like appearanceAI's emotioninformation processingBayesian Mindsponge Framework Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Data availability statementThis study used secondary data from a data article published on Data in Brief (DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2019.104220); Data and code snippets were deposited to an Open Science Framework server (https://osf.io/xa5rg/).Additional informationNotes on contributorsQuan-Hoang VuongQuan-Hoang Vuong is a Distinguished Scientist of Phenikaa University (Vietnam). He has served in NAFOSTED's Scientific Council since 2019 and the Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics since 2021. He is a senior researcher in information-processing approaches for social sciences and humanities.Viet-Phuong LaViet-Phuong La is a researcher at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Social Research (ISR), Phenikaa University, Hanoi, Vietnam, and a senior software engineer at AISDL.Minh-Hoang NguyenMinh-Hoang Nguyen works as a researcher at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Social Research (ISR), Phenikaa University. He focuses on research methodology and multidisciplinary psychology.Ruining JinRuining Jin is a researcher at China University of Political Science and Law. She focuses on multidisciplinary social research, particularly educational and gender issues.Minh-Khanh LaMinh-Khanh La works as a professor at Hanoi University of Science and Technology. He majors in electrical and electronic engineering.Tam-Tri LeTam-Tri Le works as a researcher at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Social Research (ISR), Phenikaa University. He focuses on multidisciplinary psychology and mental health research.