357. IJRM. Humans v. Hal (A meta-analysis of 20 yrs of research into consumers and AI)
April 3, 2025
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In this episode, Dr. Ana Valenzuela, Professor of Marketing at ESADE Business School in Barcelona, discusses a meta-analysis of consumer responses to artificial intelligence (AI) over the past two decades. The conversation explores the evolving attitudes toward AI, the factors influencing consumer resistance, and strategies businesses can use to build trust in AI solutions. The research reveals nuanced perspectives on how people perceive and interact with different types of AI in various contexts.
Key points discussed:
Evolving Attitudes: Consumer resistance to AI has lessened over time. Acceptance varies significantly based on how AI is labeled (e.g., AI systems, algorithms, assistants, robots) and its level of perceived autonomy.
Domain Matters: Resistance is lowest in operational and management domains but highest in legal, transportation, and healthcare sectors, especially when it involves high stakes decisions or personal matters.
Emotional Response: While people acknowledge AI's performance and accuracy, emotional responses like trust, empathy, and feeling cared for remain areas of concern. Uniqueness neglect—the feeling that machines can't truly understand human individuality—contributes to this resistance.
Realistic Contexts: Studies with more realistic, consequential choices showed lower AI resistance compared to scenario-based studies, suggesting that when real decisions are at stake, people are less resistant to AI.
Building Trust: Businesses should focus on labeling AI appropriately, building trust through data transparency, algorithm customization, and user-friendly interfaces that offer dialogue and human interaction. Anthropomorphizing AI can build trust, but physical embodiment can lead to an "uncanny valley" effect.
Click here for the Research Article
The Up Next podcast’s access to this content is courtesy of the International Journal of Research in Marketing, an international, double-blind peer-reviewed journal for marketing academics and practitioners. IJRM aims to contribute to the marketing discipline by providing high-quality, original research which advances marketing knowledge and techniques. As marketers increasingly draw on diverse and sophisticated methods, IJRM‘s target audience is comprised of marketing scholars, practitioners (e.g., marketing research and consulting professionals) and policymakers.
IJRM aims to be at the forefront of the marketing field with a particular emphasis on bringing timely ideas to market. The journal embraces innovative research with the potential to spur future research and influence practice. Hence, it welcomes contributions in various aspects of marketing. The editors, while accepting a wide array of scholarly contributions from different disciplinary approaches, especially encourage research that is novel, visionary or path breaking.
Ana Valenzuela is Professor of Marketing at ESADE Business School. She also serves as Professor at the Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, CUNY. She holds a PhD from University of Madrid, Autónoma and an MBA from Georgetown University. She was a Research Fellow at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley for three years. She has taught at multiple global business schools such as INSEAD, Santa Clara University, China-Europe International Business School, Hong Kong Science and Technology University, Singapore Institute of Management, and Instituto de Empresa.
Ana began her professional career with AC Nielsen, serving as a marketing consultant for multi-country projects informing consumer goods markets. In addition, she worked in marketing research for PubliEspana (TV5), The Advisory Board Company, Hello America and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
She has published widely, her articles on consumer-technology interactions and cross-cultural consumer behavior appearing in numerous leading journals, including the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes and International Marketing Review.
She is a frequent keynote speaker on topics related to consumer psychology in technology-driven and in-store environments. She was recognized by the Marketing Science Institute in the United States as a must-read author in her field. She is a member of several academic associations as well as marketing institutions/think tanks, such as the Advertising Research Foundation and the American Marketing Association.
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International Journal of Research in Marketing
Ana Valenzuela