ABSTRACT
As artificial intelligence (AI) technologies progress, AI agents arise as potential teammates in the workplace. This study explores how the visual representation of the AI agent as well as its conformity to traditional gender stereotypes affects the manifestation of uncanny valley effects in a workplace team context. Using social categorization theory, we conducted three between-subject, randomly assigned experimental studies (N1 = 239, N2 = 513, N3 = 403, NTotal = 1155) and investigated how the AI agents’ varying levels of human-likeness (human-like, almost human-like, or cartoon-like) and conformity to traditional gender stereotypes (gender-neutral, male, or female versus warm or competent) in two different workplace contexts (Study 2: traditionally masculine, Study 3: traditionally feminine) affect eeriness reactions, initial trust, and willingness to have the AI agent join the all-human team. In Study 1, we find that a more human-like visual representation is associated with lower eeriness reactions, higher initial trust, and higher willingness to have the AI agent join the team. Once gender and temperament are introduced in Study 2, the warm male AI agent leads to higher eeriness reactions by not conforming to gender stereotypes while the warm female agent elicits the lowest eeriness reactions. When the workplace context is changed into a more traditionally feminine setting in Study 3, the warm male agent elicits the lowest eeriness reaction despite not conforming to gender stereotypes.