Understanding the effect of identity disclosure of humanlike artificial intelligence influencers through watermarking

Park, Se Il

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127230 Copy

Description

Title

Understanding the effect of identity disclosure of humanlike artificial intelligence influencers through watermarking

Author(s)

Park, Se Il

Issue Date

2024-12-06

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Ham, Chang-Dae

Committee Member(s)

• Nelson, Michelle R.
• Sar, Sela

Department of Study

Advertising

Discipline

Advertising

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• AI advertising
• Watermark
• AI Influencer
• Identity disclosure

Abstract

As artificial intelligence (AI) technology continues to advance, it has become increasingly challenging to distinguish human influencers from AI-generated influencer personas. In response, the government has introduced watermarking as a measure to ensure transparency in the disclosure of influencers’ identities. Despite the importance of this issue, there has been a lack of research on the topic. To fill this gap, the present study aims to examine the effects of watermark disclosure of AI influencers’ identity and its influence on consumers’ purchase intentions, particularly in relation to the nature of the message being conveyed. Drawing on multidimensional persuasion knowledge and construal level theory, this study conducted a 2 (watermark: presence vs. absence) by 2 (message type: utilitarian vs. hedonic) between-subjects experiment and found that consumers exhibited higher purchase intentions when a watermark was present, and the message was utilitarian rather than hedonic. Furthermore, this interaction effect was sequentially mediated by consumer skepticism and dislike. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Graduation Semester

2024-12

Type of Resource

Thesis

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127230

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2024 Se Il Park

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