Opportunity or threat? The effect of implicit belief and uncertainty avoidance on job replacement

When AI becomes the inevitable, people start to embrace and identify ways in which they can benefit from using it. Theoretical frameworks for AI adoption are abundant, most of which treat AI as a technology rather than a human peer. Applying the theory of social comparison to AI contexts, the current research expounds on the interplay between implicit belief in AI abilities and individual uncertainty avoidance on the threats of AI. Particularly, when people have a lesser need for predictability, those who believe in the malleability or fixability of AI abilities did not have different perceptions towards the possibility that they may be replaced by AI. Yet, when people are less open to risks, those who believe in the changeable abilities of AI may be more likely to consider it as a threat. Theoretically, the integration of the social comparison theory, which originated in human-to-human relationships, into AI contexts is a novel approach. Practically, the findings address the gap in which consumers may acknowledge AI ability, but they may not wish to adopt it, a significant insight for marketing managers or manufacturers of AI-empowered products.