Do You Feel Like Using GenAI? Scenario Emotional Valence Impact on Potential Generative Artificial Intelligence Use

Generative artificial intelligence (genAI) is becoming increasingly ubiquitous, creating questions about what factors are influencing its use. This study explored whether emotions in decision-making scenarios impact the use of genAI writing tools. We presented 35 writing-based scenarios, some associated with the six basic human emotions (sadness, anger, enjoyment, fear, surprise, disgust) and others created as neutral emotional conditions. College student participants were asked whether they would use a genAI tool to complete the task, and then to identify the emotion present. Most participants varied their decision to use AI tools. There were significant effects of emotion on the potential use of genAI assistance, with a higher intended adoption for fear and surprise contexts. Emotion strength also influenced potential AI use, with reported AI trust and task complexity increasing in stronger-rated scenarios. However, the overall rate of AI use was generally low. Implications for automation use and trust theories are discussed.