How AI sources can increase openness to opposing views

Exposure to counterattitudinal information has been shown to yield mixed effects on attitude polarization. The current research explores the differential impact of such information when generated by artificial intelligence (AI) versus human sources. While prior work highlights a general aversion to AI for decision-making, our research reveals a consistent openness to AI in the context of counterattitudinal messages. Across four pre-registered studies (N = 2061), we find that when people receive counterattitudinal messages on potentially polarizing issues, AI sources are perceived as less biased, more informative, and having less persuasive intent than human sources. This leads to greater receptiveness to counterattitudinal messages when those messages come from AI rather than human sources. In addition, we find preliminary evidence that receiving counterattitudinal messages from an AI (versus human) source can diminish outgroup animosity and facilitate attitude change.