Cognitive impairment and danger to humanity, or personal assistant and learning tool? Exploring attitudes towards ChatGPT and their predictors

This study examines the factors shaping attitudes towards ChatGPT inclusive of personality traits, ideological orientations, AI literacy, gender, and cultural context. In Study 1 ( N total = 500; N valid = 472 Serbia), positive perceptions of ChatGPT as a learning tool and personal assistant were linked to higher AI literacy and supportive views of AI, whereas negative AI-related attitudes predicted concerns about ChatGPT’s cognitive impairment and existential threats. Gender played a crucial role: among men, higher levels of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO) predicted more negative attitudes, while among women, RWA, SDO, and Openness were associated with more positive views. Study 2 compared German (as a representative of one of the most developed countries, especially in AI development; N total = 115; N valid = 112) and Serbian (as an example of a less AI-developed country; N total = 119; N valid = 117) samples, revealing significant differences (e.g., Germans scored higher in AI literacy, while Serbian participants scored higher in Conscientiousness and Extraversion. We further found different and unique effects of the examined predictors on participants’ AI- and ChatGPT-related attitudes across both samples, possibly driven by the above-mentioned base differences. These findings underscore a complex interplay of individual and cultural factors that drive divergent interpretations of AI’s societal role, highlighting the need to consider context when assessing public acceptance of emerging technologies.