Does Information About AI Regulation Change Manager Evaluation of Ethical Concerns and Intent to Adopt AI?

Abstract

We examine the impacts of potential artificial intelligence (AI) regulations on managers’ perceptions on ethical issues related to AI and their intentions to adopt AI technologies. We conduct a randomized online survey experiment on more than a thousand managers in the United States. We randomly present managers with different proposed AI regulations, and ask about ethical issues related to AI and their intentions related to AI adoption. We find that information about AI regulation increases manager perception of the importance of safety, privacy, bias/discrimination, and transparency issues related to AI. However, there is a tradeoff; regulation information reduces manager intent to adopt AI technologies. Moreover, information about regulation increases manager intent to spend on developing AI strategy including ethical issues at the cost of investing in AI adoption, such as providing AI training to current employees or purchasing AI software packages. (JEL: K24, L21, L51, O33, O38)