Comprehension, apprehension, and acceptance: Understanding the influence of literacy and anxiety on acceptance of artificial Intelligence

In this paper, we discuss how people's attitudes toward accepting Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies are influenced by their self-reported literacy (i.e., their understanding and ability to use AI technology) and anxiety (i.e., their fear of the AI technology's impact on society). We conducted an anonymous survey, gathering 313 valid responses, and utilized Structural Equation Modelling to examine the relationships between these factors. Our model incorporates the constructs of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to provide a more comprehensive overview of AI acceptance. Our findings indicate that while literacy fosters a positive attitude towards acceptance, anxiety has a minimal, although significant, direct negative effect, but plays a significant role in mediating the influence of literacy. Specifically, learning and sociotechnical dimensions of AI anxiety serves as a complementary partial mediator between AI literacy and acceptance, meaning that a portion of the effect of literacy on acceptance is mediated through AI anxiety. In contrast, literacy still explains a portion of acceptance independent from anxiety. Our study also confirms that dimensions of technology acceptance, as suggested by TAM, significantly shape individuals' attitudes towards AI as for others digital technology. In this respect, AI literacy positively influences the perception of ease of use and usefulness, thereby contributing to the overall acceptance of AI-based technology. We also discuss the implications of these findings for the development of critical literacy in the context of AI-based technology.