Attitudes to AI among high school students: Understanding distrust towards humans will not help us understand distrust towards AI

Abstract

This study aimed to examine how adolescents view artificial intelligence (AI) and its development and create a tool to measure cynical hostility towards AI. Previous studies showed people have mixed feelings about AI, yet interest in AI and its development grows. As AI is central to technological progress, creating a tool that measures the attitude towards it is necessary. Six hundred and fifty-nine high school students took part in the study. The results showed that Cynical Hostility Towards AI Scale (CHTAIS) is a valid and reliable measure and that cynical hostility towards AI is a separate construct from cynical hostility towards humans. The results showed that people are more distrustful of AI when it is perceived as more hostile and less governed by emotions. Cynical hostility towards AI may be a valuable construct, meriting further investigation and theoretical considerations.