Zach Napora | 2025 I.S. Symposium

Name: Zach Napora
Title: Man, Machine, or Something in Between? How Emotions and Advisor Identity Shape Our Use of AI Advice
Major: Neuroscience
Advisor: Grit Herzmann

As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly integrates into daily life, I’ve always been fascinated by one core question: Why don’t people trust AI—even when it’s right? My Independent Study explores that question by diving into the psychological factors that influence how people use (or avoid) advice from AI systems. Specifically, I investigated whether emotional states like confidence or anxiety, and the way AI is presented (as a faceless machine versus a friendly, named character), impact how much people rely on AI-generated advice.

In the study, participants first guessed how much money was in jars of coins. Then, after writing about a personal moment of anxiety, confidence, or a neutral experience, they got a second chance—this time with advice from either a human, an unnamed AI, or an AI with a name, personality, and even a cartoon owl avatar. What I found was surprising: while emotion didn’t play a major role, people were significantly more likely to follow advice from the anthropomorphized AI than from a human.

This finding suggests that giving AI a relatable identity might be key to increasing trust and improving human-AI collaboration. I’m excited by the real-world applications, from medical decision aids to educational tools. In the future, I’d love to explore how far we can push this idea—how “human” does an AI need to seem before people really listen? And where’s the line between helpful and too human?

Posted in Symposium 2025 on May 1, 2025.