Understanding AI adoption through expert discourse: A UTAUT-based analysis on LinkedIn

Technology experts shape, rather than follow, the trajectory of artificial intelligence (AI). Yet their collective voice on professional social networks has been largely unmapped. Drawing on tens of thousands of AI-related LinkedIn posts, this study marries an embedding-based topic-modeling pipeline with the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to decode what those who build AI really value. Our findings move beyond a simple application of UTAUT to re-contextualize its core constructs for this expert population. We find that for these experts, adoption is a complex negotiation: Performance Expectancy (PE) is redefined as the potential for industry-wide transformative breakthroughs, Effort Expectancy (EE) evolves into a demand for cognitive efficiency, Social Influence (SI) becomes a dual role where experts both shape and are shaped by norms, and Facilitating Conditions (FCs) are viewed as a holistic ecosystem. Furthermore, our analysis shows how cultural context recalibrates each construct, underscoring that "one-size-fits-all" models misread global AI uptake. Beyond mapping discourse, this study delivers actionable foresight for leaders navigating the next wave of AI innovation. Based on the analysis of expert discourse, we proposed a re-contextualized UTAUT model for AI adoption, as illustrated in the conceptual model.