The increasing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into our daily lives has led to all of us perceiving AI differently. Research suggests that this difference could be shaped not just by the technology itself, but by who we are. A study published in the Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science on March 25, 2025, finds that being more proficient in using AI and possessing a sense of personal control leads to higher well-being of users.
“Public reactions to artificial intelligence are highly polarized. While some people see AI as exciting and beneficial, others express concern, discomfort, or even fear about its societal and personal consequences,” explained study authors Dr. Magnus Liebherr, cognitive psychologist of the University of Duisburg-Essen, and Dr. Raian Ali, an Associate Professor at Hamad Bin Khalifa University researching digital addiction, responsible technology use, and impacts of technology design on human well-being.
According to the study, extraversion (or extroversion), the personality trait describing people energized by social situations; conscientiousness, describing thoughtful, self-disciplined, and organized people; and agreeableness, describing empathetic and cooperative people, predict positive experiences with AI. However, neuroticism, the personality trait associated with people who tend to have mood swings, stress, and anxiety, predicts negative experiences with AI.
What’s more, technical skills play a major role in shaping how people respond to AI. The study highlights that higher competency with using AI leads to users having positive perceptions towards AI.
“We expected personality traits to be the dominant predictors, but AI competency emerged as equally strong in predicting positive perceptions of AI,” Liebherr and Ali said. “This was encouraging because personality traits tend to be relatively stable, whereas competency can potentially be improved.”
Another important contributor to people’s well-being is their “locus of control,” a psychological concept that refers to whether people believe outcomes in their lives are mainly caused by their own actions or by external forces such as luck, fate, or other people. Participants who believed they were largely in control of their own life paths had positive experiences with AI.
“Future research should examine how these psychological factors interact with specific AI applications and how perceptions change over time as people gain experience,” Liebherr and Ali said. “It is also important to investigate both potential benefits and risks of AI use. For example, conversational AI systems may provide support and information, but there is also a need to study whether heavy reliance on such systems could have unintended negative consequences for well-being.”
Another article published in the journal BMC Medical Education on January 6, 2025 evaluated how dentistry students view AI, noting their personality traits. Among the participants of this study, openness and agreeableness were the most common personality traits. The least common personality trait was extraversion.
The participants perceived AI to be useful, especially in helping dentists evaluate radiographs, though the least agreed statement was that they would trust evaluations of radiograph results by AI more than a dentist.
Overall, these findings suggest that attitudes towards AI reflect a mix of personality traits, confidence in using AI, and how much control we think we have over our lives. As we approach an AI-driven world and continue to improve the technology, it becomes increasingly important to consider and understand how humans view AI to foster well-being, trust, and responsible AI use.
