Under Which Conditions Are Humans Motivated to Delegate Tasks to AI? A Taxonomy on the Human Emotional State Driving the Motivation for AI Delegation

The intensity of human–artificial intelligence (AI) interactions has been growing at a rapid pace. Research has acknowledged a simultaneous significant resistance on the part of users towards AI services on the one hand and a profound acceptance of AI solutions on the other. As a remedy for this ambiguity concerning AI delegation, the author takes the next step to explain the decisive relevant factors. This research introduces the concept of the human emotional state driving the motivation for AI-based task delegation. Precisely, the affective state, as a function of the two independent neurophysiological systems of valence and arousal, determines the motivation for AI delegation in the individual decision situation. The interplay between these two determinants of a human’s affective state results in a four-quadrant taxonomy on AI delegation. For instance, a combination of low arousal and negative valence results in an affective state, which motivates the human to decide in favour of AI delegation; an opposite emotional state of high arousal and positive valence yields a low incentive to apply AI services. The implications of the present research provide novel reasons for the presence and extension of AI services in the fulfilment of human tasks.