“In ChatGPT-Powered Virtual Influencers We (Dis)Trust?”: The Privacy Paradox and the Double-Edged Sword of Ubiquitous Large Language Model (LLM) Generative AI as a General Purpose Technology (GPT) in a Human-Centered AI Ecosystem

“Can ChatGPT become a general purpose technology?” “How does the “privacy paradox” play a role in adopting ubiquitous AI technologies in a humane AI ecosystem?” To answer these research questions, this study examined the roles of AI equality, trust in the large language model (LLM) ChatGPT, the need to belong, perceived benefits of ubiquitous AI, and privacy concerns about potentially ubiquitous generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in a human-centered AI ecosystem. Drawing from the emerging literature on the AI divide (vs. AI equality) and AI-powered digital transformation, cross-sectional survey data were collected from current ChatGPT users. The results of testing PROCESS macro models with 5000 bootstrap samples showed the relationship between AI equality and purchase intention is mediated by trust in ChatGPT and is moderated by the need to belong. Privacy concerns about ChatGPT moderate the relationship between AI equality and perceived benefits of ubiquitous GenAI, which, in turn, mediates the relationship between AI equality and purchase intention. Ethical dilemmas in developing an equitable AI ecosystem, practical implications of the “privacy paradox” for designing trustworthy and ubiquitous AI interfaces in the dynamically evolving AI-powered digital transformation landscape and electronic marketplaces, and theoretical implications of the ChatGPT epidemic in a humane AI ecosystem for the literature on general purpose technology (GPT) are discussed.