Russo Claudia, Romano Luciano, Clemente Davide, Iacovone Leonardo, Gladwin Thomas Edward, Panno Angelo
Experimental and Applied Psychology Laboratory, Department of Health and Life Sciences, Università Europea di Roma, Rome, Italy.
Department of Psychology, University of Chieti, Chieti, Italy.
Front Psychol. 2025 May 6;16:1559457. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1559457. eCollection 2025.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is having a significant impact on people's lives. Despite the benefits associated with this technological advancement, there may be gender-related inequalities in accessing and using AI systems. The present study aimed to test gender differences in factors likely to influence AI adoption, in particular, the moderating role of gender in the relationship between AI anxiety and positive attitudes toward AI.
Participants were 335 adults (52.2% women; mean age = 29.96, SD = 13.88) who filled in an online self-report anonymous questionnaire. To test the hypotheses, both a MANOVA and a moderation model were adopted.
Results revealed significant gender differences in AI adoption dimensions, with women reporting higher AI anxiety, lower positive attitudes toward AI, lower use of AI, and lower perceived knowledge of AI. A significant negative relationship was found between AI anxiety and positive attitudes toward AI. An interaction between gender and AI anxiety was found: At low levels of anxiety, women showed lower levels of positive attitudes toward AI than men, while at high levels of AI anxiety, gender differences were less evident.
These findings suggest that AI anxiety works as a "gender differences leveler." The present study contributes to expanding knowledge about gender differences in technology, which will underpin practical interventions for reducing the gender digital gap. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.
人工智能（AI）正在对人们的生活产生重大影响。尽管这项技术进步带来了诸多益处，但在获取和使用人工智能系统方面可能存在与性别相关的不平等现象。本研究旨在测试在可能影响人工智能采用的因素方面的性别差异，特别是性别在人工智能焦虑与对人工智能的积极态度之间关系中的调节作用。
参与者为335名成年人（52.2%为女性；平均年龄 = 29.96，标准差 = 13.88），他们填写了一份在线自我报告匿名问卷。为了检验假设，采用了多变量方差分析（MANOVA）和调节模型。
结果显示在人工智能采用维度上存在显著的性别差异，女性报告的人工智能焦虑程度更高，对人工智能的积极态度更低，人工智能的使用频率更低，以及对人工智能的感知知识更少。在人工智能焦虑与对人工智能的积极态度之间发现了显著的负相关关系。发现了性别与人工智能焦虑之间的交互作用：在低焦虑水平下，女性对人工智能的积极态度低于男性，而在高人工智能焦虑水平下，性别差异不太明显。
这些发现表明人工智能焦虑起到了“性别差异均衡器”的作用。本研究有助于扩展关于技术方面性别差异的知识，这将为减少性别数字鸿沟的实际干预措施提供支持。讨论了研究的局限性和未来的研究方向。
