A Psychological Model Predicts Fears about Artificial Intelligence across 20 Countries and 6 Domains of Application

Artificial Intelligence (AI) often raises fears when deployed in new occupations, in a way that varies substantially across countries. Here we show that these country-level variations across occupations can be predicted by a psychological model at the individual level. Individuals fear AI in a given occupation as a function of the mismatch between psychological traits they deem necessary for an occupation, and perceived potential of AI to possess these traits. Country-level variations can then be predicted by the joint cultural variations in psychological requirements and AI potential. We validated this pre-registered prediction for six occupations (doctors, judges, managers, care workers, religious workers, and journalists), on a representative sample of 500 participants from each of 20 countries (total N = 10,000). Our findings may help develop best practices for designing and communicating about AI in a principled yet culturally sensitive way, avoiding one-size-fits-all approaches centered on Western values and perceptions.