Dong, M., et al. (2026).
The American psychologist,
81(1), 53–67.
Abstract
The frontier of artificial intelligence (AI) is constantly moving, raising fears and concerns whenever AI is deployed in a new occupation. Some of these fears are legitimate and should be addressed by AI developers-but others may result from psychological barriers, suppressing the uptake of a beneficial technology. Here, we show that country-level variations across occupations can be predicted by a psychological model at the individual level. Individual fears of AI in a given occupation are associated with the mismatch between psychological traits people deem necessary for an occupation and perceived potential of AI to possess these traits. Country-level variations can then be predicted by the joint cultural variations in psychological requirements and AI potential. We validated this preregistered prediction for six occupations (doctors, judges, managers, care workers, religious workers, and journalists) on a representative sample of 500 participants from each of 20 countries (total N = 10,000). Our findings may help develop best practices for designing and communicating about AI in a principled yet culturally sensitive way, avoiding one-size-fits-all approaches centered on Western values and perceptions.
Here are some thoughts:
This study investigates public fears about artificial intelligence taking over human roles across six high-stakes occupations (doctors, judges, managers, care workers, religious workers, and journalists) in 20 countries. Using a sample of 10,000 participants, the research identifies that fear is driven by a mismatch between the psychological traits people expect from humans in a given job and the perceived ability of AI to embody those traits. The findings show significant cultural variation in both the level and nature of these fears, highlighting the need for culturally sensitive AI design and communication strategies rather than uniform, Western-centric approaches to deployment and public engagement.