Thinking About God Increases Acceptance of Artificial Intelligence in Decision-making

Overview

Journal Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Specialty Science

Date 2023 Aug 7

PMID 37549301

Authors

Mustafa Karatas

Keisha M Cutright

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Thinking about God promotes greater acceptance of Artificial intelligence (AI)-based recommendations. Eight preregistered experiments ( = 2,462) reveal that when God is salient, people are more willing to consider AI-based recommendations than when God is not salient. Studies 1 and 2a to 2d demonstrate across a wide variety of contexts, from choosing entertainment and food to mutual funds and dental procedures, that God salience reduces reliance on human recommenders and heightens willingness to consider AI recommendations. Studies 3 and 4 demonstrate that the reduced reliance on humans is driven by a heightened feeling of smallness when God is salient, followed by a recognition of human fallibility. Study 5 addresses the similarity in mysteriousness between God and AI as an alternative, but unsupported, explanation. Finally, study 6 ( = 53,563) corroborates the experimental results with data from 21 countries on the usage of robo-advisors in financial decision-making.

Citing Articles

Reply to Moore et al.: Manipulation adherence and baseline AI attitudes as moderators of the effect of God salience on algorithm aversion.

Karatas M, Cutright K Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024; 121(31):e2407917121.

PMID: 39042679 PMC: 11295043. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2407917121.

Does thinking about God increase acceptance of artificial intelligence in decision-making?.

Moore D, Schroeder J, Bailey E, Gershon R, Moore J, Simmons J Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024; 121(31):e2402315121.

PMID: 39042678 PMC: 11295048. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2402315121.

AI emerges as the frontier in behavioral science.

Meng J Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024; 121(10):e2401336121.

PMID: 38408258 PMC: 10927488. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2401336121.

Thinking about God increases acceptance of artificial intelligence in decision-making.

Karatas M, Cutright K Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023; 120(33):e2218961120.

PMID: 37549301 PMC: 10438833. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2218961120.

References

Zhou H, Fishbach A . The pitfall of experimenting on the web: How unattended selective attrition leads to surprising (yet false) research conclusions. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2016; 111(4):493-504. DOI: 10.1037/pspa0000056. View

van Elk M, Matzke D, Gronau Q, Guan M, Vandekerckhove J, Wagenmakers E . Meta-analyses are no substitute for registered replications: a skeptical perspective on religious priming. Front Psychol. 2015; 6:1365. PMC: 4569810. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01365. View

Paulhus D, Carey J . The FAD-Plus: measuring lay beliefs regarding free will and related constructs. J Pers Assess. 2010; 93(1):96-104. DOI: 10.1080/00223891.2010.528483. View

Piff P, Dietze P, Feinberg M, Stancato D, Keltner D . Awe, the small self, and prosocial behavior. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2015; 108(6):883-99. DOI: 10.1037/pspi0000018. View

Keltner D, Haidt J . Approaching awe, a moral, spiritual, and aesthetic emotion. Cogn Emot. 2018; 17(2):297-314. DOI: 10.1080/02699930302297. View

Cadario R, Longoni C, Morewedge C . Understanding, explaining, and utilizing medical artificial intelligence. Nat Hum Behav. 2021; 5(12):1636-1642. DOI: 10.1038/s41562-021-01146-0. View

Preston J, Ritter R . Different effects of religion and God on prosociality with the ingroup and outgroup. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2013; 39(11):1471-83. DOI: 10.1177/0146167213499937. View

Laurin K, Fitzsimons G, Kay A . Social disadvantage and the self-regulatory function of justice beliefs. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2010; 100(1):149-71. DOI: 10.1037/a0021343. View

Stellar J, Gordon A, Anderson C, Piff P, McNeil G, Keltner D . Awe and humility. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2017; 114(2):258-269. DOI: 10.1037/pspi0000109. View

10.

Laurin K, Kay A, Fitzsimons G . Divergent effects of activating thoughts of God on self-regulation. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2011; 102(1):4-21. DOI: 10.1037/a0025971. View

11.

Bai Y, Maruskin L, Chen S, Gordon A, Stellar J, McNeil G . Awe, the diminished self, and collective engagement: Universals and cultural variations in the small self. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2017; 113(2):185-209. DOI: 10.1037/pspa0000087. View

12.

WATSON D, Clark L, Tellegen A . Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1988; 54(6):1063-70. DOI: 10.1037//0022-3514.54.6.1063. View

13.

Bloom P . Religion, morality, evolution. Annu Rev Psychol. 2011; 63:179-99. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-psych-120710-100334. View

14.

McKay R, Whitehouse H . Religion and morality. Psychol Bull. 2014; 141(2):447-73. PMC: 4345965. DOI: 10.1037/a0038455. View

15.

Kupor D, Laurin K, Levav J . Anticipating divine protection? Reminders of god can increase nonmoral risk taking. Psychol Sci. 2015; 26(4):374-84. DOI: 10.1177/0956797614563108. View

16.

Norenzayan A, Shariff A . The origin and evolution of religious prosociality. Science. 2008; 322(5898):58-62. DOI: 10.1126/science.1158757. View

17.

Karatas M, Cutright K . Thinking about God increases acceptance of artificial intelligence in decision-making. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023; 120(33):e2218961120. PMC: 10438833. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2218961120. View

18.

Morewedge C . Preference for human, not algorithm aversion. Trends Cogn Sci. 2022; 26(10):824-826. DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2022.07.007. View

19.

Atran S, Norenzayan A . Religion's evolutionary landscape: counterintuition, commitment, compassion, communion. Behav Brain Sci. 2005; 27(6):713-30. DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x04000172. View

20.

Meier B, Hauser D, Robinson M, Friesen C, Schjeldahl K . What's "up" with God? Vertical space as a representation of the divine. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2007; 93(5):699-710. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.93.5.699. View