To believe or not to believe? Generative AI and the 'trust dilemma' in charitable and medical crowdfunding.

While charitable and medical crowdfunding has become a vital resource for individuals facing financial hardships, it also raises significant ethical and trust-related concerns. Generative AI (GenAI) offers opportunities to enhance fundraising effectiveness, but its misuse could undermine donor confi...

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Publicado en:Behaviour & Information Technology Vol. 45; no. 11; pp. 2742 - 2762
Autores principales: Arnold, Caroline, Xu, Larry Zhiming, Saffarizadeh, Kambiz, Madiraju, Praveen
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd Jul2026
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: To believe or not to believe? Generative AI and the 'trust dilemma' in charitable and medical crowdfunding.
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        au:
          Arnold, Caroline
          Xu, Larry Zhiming
          Saffarizadeh, Kambiz
          Madiraju, Praveen
        affil: Primera Engineers, Chicago, Illinois, USA
      sug:
        subj:
          Artificial Intelligence, Generative
          Trust
          Crowdsourcing
          Philanthropy
          Human
          Funding Source
          Male
          Female
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          Logistic Regression
          Multivariate Analysis of Covariance
          Paired T-Tests
          Descriptive Statistics
          Data Analysis Software
          Surveys
          Emotions
          Decision Making
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          Middle Aged: 45-64 years
          Aged: 65+ years
          Aged, 80 & over
          Male
          Female
      ab: While charitable and medical crowdfunding has become a vital resource for individuals facing financial hardships, it also raises significant ethical and trust-related concerns. Generative AI (GenAI) offers opportunities to enhance fundraising effectiveness, but its misuse could undermine donor confidence and exacerbate existing trust issues. Grounded in trust theory and algorithm aversion, this research examines the complexities of integrating GenAI into crowdfunding. Study 1 employed paragraph vectors, the NRC Emotional Lexicon, and LIWC to analyze linguistic and sentiment differences between human-written and AI-rewritten GoFundMe campaigns (N = 1,800). Study 2 used a human-in-the-loop approach in a between-subjects randomised experiment (N = 601) to assess how AI authorship and disclosure influenced cognitive and affective trust among donors. Findings revealed that AI-rewritten messages were more analytical, goal-directed, and emotionally expressive but appeared overly polished and less authentic. Notably, disclosing AI involvement significantly reduced both cognitive and affective trust. This 'trust dilemma' underscores the ethical complexities of GenAI in crowdfunding, emphasising the need for transparency and regulatory frameworks to ensure responsible AI integration in socially sensitive domains.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
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    language: English
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