Expertise and emotion: how online opinion leaders shape public perceptions of AI—among university students in China
The rapid development of AI technology has triggered intense discussions on social media. As key users, online opinion leaders (OILs) wield “emotional power” that exhibits an “emotion setting” effect, influencing users’ perceptions of AI, with their “expert” identity playing a crucial role in emotio...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Communication |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2025.1640957/full |
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| author | Wenjun Liu Yi’an Jiang Weijia Deng Aibo Tan |
| author_facet | Wenjun Liu Yi’an Jiang Weijia Deng Aibo Tan |
| author_sort | Wenjun Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The rapid development of AI technology has triggered intense discussions on social media. As key users, online opinion leaders (OILs) wield “emotional power” that exhibits an “emotion setting” effect, influencing users’ perceptions of AI, with their “expert” identity playing a crucial role in emotional communication. To examine the impact of OILs’ expert credibility and emotional arousal level on users’ AI perception, an experimental study (N = 102) was conducted. Results show that under a negative tone, higher-expert-credibility OILs led participants to perceive AI as more useful (PU) and easier to use (PEOU). Similarly, higher emotional arousal strengthened these perceptions. Notably, for high-credibility OILs, the arousal-credibility interaction significantly affected both PEOU and PU, whereas for low-credibility OILs, it impacted PU but not PEOU. Furthermore, AI anxiety mediates the arousal-perception relationship, moderated by expert credibility. Critically, emotional arousal significantly influenced AI anxiety regardless of credibility level. This study elucidates how OILs shape sociotechnical imaginaries amid rapid AI advancement. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-feed27b6dc6e4467903f24b9b28bbe53 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2297-900X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Communication |
| spelling | doaj-art-feed27b6dc6e4467903f24b9b28bbe532025-08-20T03:18:01ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Communication2297-900X2025-07-011010.3389/fcomm.2025.16409571640957Expertise and emotion: how online opinion leaders shape public perceptions of AI—among university students in ChinaWenjun Liu0Yi’an Jiang1Weijia Deng2Aibo Tan3School of Journalism and Communication, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, ChinaSchool of Journalism and Communication, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, ChinaHonors College, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, ChinaKey Laboratory of Brain-Machine Intelligence for Information Behavior (Ministry of Education and Shanghai), School of Business and Management, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, ChinaThe rapid development of AI technology has triggered intense discussions on social media. As key users, online opinion leaders (OILs) wield “emotional power” that exhibits an “emotion setting” effect, influencing users’ perceptions of AI, with their “expert” identity playing a crucial role in emotional communication. To examine the impact of OILs’ expert credibility and emotional arousal level on users’ AI perception, an experimental study (N = 102) was conducted. Results show that under a negative tone, higher-expert-credibility OILs led participants to perceive AI as more useful (PU) and easier to use (PEOU). Similarly, higher emotional arousal strengthened these perceptions. Notably, for high-credibility OILs, the arousal-credibility interaction significantly affected both PEOU and PU, whereas for low-credibility OILs, it impacted PU but not PEOU. Furthermore, AI anxiety mediates the arousal-perception relationship, moderated by expert credibility. Critically, emotional arousal significantly influenced AI anxiety regardless of credibility level. This study elucidates how OILs shape sociotechnical imaginaries amid rapid AI advancement.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2025.1640957/fullonline opinion leaderexpert credibilityAI anxietyemotional communicationperception |
| spellingShingle | Wenjun Liu Yi’an Jiang Weijia Deng Aibo Tan Expertise and emotion: how online opinion leaders shape public perceptions of AI—among university students in China Frontiers in Communication online opinion leader expert credibility AI anxiety emotional communication perception |
| title | Expertise and emotion: how online opinion leaders shape public perceptions of AI—among university students in China |
| title_full | Expertise and emotion: how online opinion leaders shape public perceptions of AI—among university students in China |
| title_fullStr | Expertise and emotion: how online opinion leaders shape public perceptions of AI—among university students in China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Expertise and emotion: how online opinion leaders shape public perceptions of AI—among university students in China |
| title_short | Expertise and emotion: how online opinion leaders shape public perceptions of AI—among university students in China |
| title_sort | expertise and emotion how online opinion leaders shape public perceptions of ai among university students in china |
| topic | online opinion leader expert credibility AI anxiety emotional communication perception |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2025.1640957/full |
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