‘Bad Guy AI’ Is Not Trusted by Consumers
Reduced purchase intent seen for products described as using AI; establishing trust in AI is a challenge; ethical AI seen as providing an edge; Gen Z digital natives value authenticity
By John P. Desmond, Editor, AI in Business
Researchers at Washington State University have found that using the term “artificial intelligence” in product descriptions reduces purchase intentions.
The study was conducted on 1,000 adults in the US to measure the relationship between AI disclosure and consumer behavior. “The findings consistently showed products described as using artificial intelligence were less popular,” stated the researchers, led by Mesut Cicek, clinical assistant professor of marketing, in an account in Science Daily.
"When AI is mentioned, it tends to lower emotional trust, which in turn decreases purchase intentions," he stated. "We found emotional trust plays a critical role in how consumers perceive AI-powered products."
In one experiment, participants were presented with identical descriptions of smart TVs, the only difference being the term “artificial intelligence” was included for one group and not the other. The group that saw AI in the product description indicated they were less likely to buy the TV.
The more expensive the product or service–such as electronics, medical devices or financial services–the more negative was the response to AI disclosure.
"Marketers should carefully consider how they present AI in their product descriptions or develop strategies to increase emotional trust. Emphasizing AI may not always be beneficial, particularly for high-risk products,” Cicek stated, advising, “Focus on describing the features or benefits and avoid the AI buzzwords."
Matthew McDonaughey Deployed Against ‘Bad Guy AI’
The SaaS company Salesforce confronts mistrust of AI head on in its TV ad campaign featuring Matthew McConaughey. Set in the Wild West, the ads warn businesses about data thieves and positions Salesforce AI as a trusted offering, according to a recent account in Ad Age.
In the “Ask More of AI” campaign of two 30-second spots, McConaughey plays a sheriff who confronts data thieves amid the AI gold rush. “Don’t get robbed by bad guy AI,” says the script, then suggesting Salesforce AI “never steals or shares your customer data.”
Interviewed by Ad Age, the chief marketing officer at Salesforce, Ariel Kelman, said the requirement of AI companies to train on customer data, presents security and privacy issues.
“What we’ve built is the ability for companies to ground their AI in customer data that can get great results, but in a way that they can trust the data is going to be safe,” Kelman stated. “The data is not going to the wrong people, and the results are going to come back with really useful things, not hallucinations.”
Salesforce’s research shows that to get a return on investments in AI, it needs to be trusted. Among the company’s findings:
More than half (54 percent) of global workers do not trust the data used to train AI systems today;
75 percent of those who don’t trust the data that trains AI also believe that AI lacks the information needed to be useful;
65 percent of global C-suite executives say trust in AI plays a role in driving revenue;
Some 80 percent of global C-suite respondents cite accurate and secure data as the most critical elements for building trust in AI in their organization.
If in doubt about their organization’s AI strategy, executives can heed the words of actor McConaughey, who stated in an interview with Ad Age last year, “So many businesses are just sprinting forward with the idea of AI being about ‘How do we profit, profit, profit?’ Well, profitable AI without trusted AI is going to be a short-term game with a future death sentence.”
Ethical Practices Seen Boosting Trust in AI
In the State of Personalization Report from Twilio, supplier of a customer engagement platform, trust in AI was rated higher by those who see the AI supplier is engaged in ethical practices. Some 89 percent of 521 respondents from 12 countries held that ethical use of AI can be a competitive business advantage, according to a press release from Twilio.
Over half, 54 percent, said they are addressing consumer concerns around data privacy and ethical considerations by pursuing robust privacy controls.
The recent Twilio Personalization Report, now in its fifth year, found that 49 percent of respondents said they would trust brands more if they openly disclose the use of customer data and when they are engaging in AI-powered interactions. The Gen Z generation of 18- to 27-year-olds are digital natives with high expectations for authenticity, transparency and engagement on their terms, the report found.
Can AI Be Trusted to Be Everywhere?
AI in phones, AI in computers, AI services acting behind the scenes of your favorite search engine, have all been recently introduced.
Apple announced Apple Intelligence, a suite of AI services, its first branded entry into AI, to be built into iPhone, iPads and Macs starting in the fall. Microsoft in June began rolling out Windows computers called Copilot + PC, starting at $1,000, containing a new type of chip and a software service dubbed Recall, for finding documents and files. All emphasize data security, seeking to assure users their data will be secured.
“Do I feel safe giving this information to this company?” stated Cliff Steinhauer, a director at the National Cybersecurity Alliance, a nonprofit focusing on cybersecurity, in an account in The New York Times.
A security researcher briefed on Apple’s AI plans was also wary. “I don’t like the idea that my very personal photos and very personal searches are going out to a cloud that isn’t under my control,” stated Matthew Green, a security researcher and an associate professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins University.
After Microsoft rolled out Recall, security researchers warned of the risk everything the user has ever typed or viewed would be available to hackers. In response, the Times reported that Microsoft postponed the rollout of Recall indefinitely.
If consumers were given the option of pressing the reset button on AI, one wonders what they would choose.
Read the source articles and information in Science Daily, in Ad Age, in a press release from Twilio, and in The New York Times.