Personality and AI - AI Anxiety and Traits

Today, I came across a fascinating study by Kaya et al. (2022)—a goldmine of insights. The research investigates how personality traits, artificial intelligence (AI) anxiety, and demographics influence attitudes toward AI. The findings highlight that openness to experience and agreeableness are positively associated with technology acceptance. This seems straightforward: individuals who are more open to experience tend to seek learning opportunities, embrace new technologies, and take risks—calculated or otherwise.

But this got me thinking. Learning styles have long been debunked as a broad, oversimplified framework that fails to capture individual learning propensities. Are we seeing a similar overgeneralisation here?

Personally, my behavioural and emotional responses are often dictated by my mood and immediate circumstances. Imagine this: it’s a rainy morning, I’ve been stuck in traffic for half an hour (Powick Roundabout drivers, you’ll understand), someone cuts me off, and when I finally get to work, I realise I’ve forgotten something important. Despite scoring highly on openness, in that moment, I’m far less inclined to be accepting or experimental. Context matters. Kaya et al. acknowledge that a range of situational factors can influence our responses, which makes me wonder: Are students’ interactions with AI more driven by context than by personality alone?

AI chatbots now mimic companionship and even provide mental health support. But where is the safeguard against mood-influenced decision-making, unethical behavior, or deception? A human can easily falsify their responses, making it difficult to assess true intent. When faced with an ethically compromising prompt, does understanding personality traits become more crucial than ever?

Consider emotional reactions to difficult situations—resilience plays a key role. Research suggests that individuals high in openness, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability tend to be more resilient. But what happens when conscientiousness is tested by temptation? And as AI detection tools fail to reliably flag academically dishonest work, could this directly influence personality-driven behavior?

There’s a lot to unpack here.

Reference
Kaya, F., Aydin, F., Schepman, A., Rodway, P., Yetişensoy, O., & Demir Kaya, M. (2022). The Roles of Personality Traits, AI Anxiety, and Demographic Factors in Attitudes toward Artificial Intelligence. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 40(2), 497–514. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2022.2151730 

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