The AI Effect: People Rate Distinctively Human Attributes as More Essential to Being Human after Learning about Artificial Intelligence Advances

As news reports describing Artificial Intelligence (AI) proliferate, will people’s perceptions of human nature change such that they rate distinctively human attributes as more essential? Five studies (N = 5111) demonstrate this “AI Effect.” Study 1 first establishes a two-part classification of human attributes used in subsequent studies, distinguishing human attributes that AI are perceived as capable of (“shared” attributes such as using logic or language) from ones that humans are seen as uniquely capable of (“distinctive” attributes such as having a personality or beliefs). Study 2 demonstrates the AI Effect: compared to reading an article about the attributes of trees, reading an article describing AI advances leads participants to rate distinctive attributes as more essential to being human. Study 3 tests whether this effect is due to anthropomorphizing a non-human entity. Study 4 considers the alternative that this effect is solely driven by demand. Study 5 shows that it is enough to simply mention AI advances to observe this effect. This research suggests that as people learn about increasingly sophisticated AI, conceptions of human nature may shift in reaction to regard what makes humans unique as more essential.