Detrimental Effects of Anthropomorphism on the Perceived Physical Safety of Artificial Agents in Dangerous Situations

The current article reveals a detrimental effect of anthropomorphizing embodied artificial agents, because they appear physically less safe in dangerous situations, which leads to less favorable downstream consequences, both attitudinal (e.g., consumer evaluations, willingness to pay) and behavioral (e.g., information search, donation behavior). However, this detrimental effect is mitigated if users do not perceive a given situation to be dangerous. The findings also reveal some theoretically important, practically relevant moderators. Specifically, when consumers receive marketing messages that direct their attention to artificial agents’ humanlike minds (e.g., cognitive, socio-emotional capabilities) rather than humanlike bodies, the negative effect of anthropomorphizing artificial agents disappears. This study provides practical guidance for marketers who plan to integrate artificial agents with humanlike features into their operations.