Lower Artificial Intelligence Literacy Predicts Greater AI Receptivity

s the field of artificial intelligence (AI) continues to progress and transform society, understanding the factors that influence receptivity towards AI has become increasingly important. Yet, little is known about how systematic differences across consumers predict AI receptivity. The current research investigates whether and how knowledge about AI influences consumers’ receptivity towards AI. In contrast to four surveys documenting that most people expect greater AI literacy to predict greater AI receptivity, six studies find the reverse: people with lower AI literacy are more receptive to AI. Greater receptivity among those with lower AI literacy persists across a broad range of tasks and is not explained by differences in perceptions of the capability, ethicality, or fear of AI. Instead, we find evidence that people with lower AI literacy perceive AI as more magical, leading them to experience greater feelings of awe, and these perceptions increase AI receptivity. These findings suggest that there may be unintended consequences of policymakers’ efforts to educate the public about AI, and that companies marketing AI product and services may need to re-evaluate which target segments may be more likely to adopt their technologies.