Your psychological needs predict whether you will accept an AI companion or therapist
A massive study of over 35,000 people across 35 nations shows that your cultural background and psychological needs strongly predict whether you would trust an artificial intelligence to act as your doctor, teacher, or companion.
Recent research suggests that an individual's psychological needs play a crucial role in determining their acceptance of artificial intelligence (AI) as a doctor, teacher, companion, or mental health advisor. A study of 35,000 people from 35 countries, conducted by researchers Magnus Liebherr, Ala Yankouskaya, and Raian Ali, indicates that feelings of competence and autonomy significantly influence whether individuals allow AI to assume these traditionally human roles.
The study, published in Telematics and Informatics, examined the relationship between psychological needs and technology acceptance in diverse cultural settings. While competence was the most consistent predictor of willingness to delegate tasks to AI, autonomy was particularly influential in emotionally and socially oriented roles.
Relatedness, on the other hand, had a weaker global impact. The study highlights that cultural background strongly influences these decisions, with participants from Arab-Islamic, Confucian-Asian, Sub-Saharan African, and South Asian regions showing a greater readiness to accept AI in social roles compared to those from Anglo-Individualist nations like the United States and the United Kingdom.
Nordic and Germanic European regions, however, demonstrated the lowest readiness to accept AI in these contexts.
Written by urgent.news from PsyPost's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
