Shedding light on new technology: How ambient luminance influences acceptance of AI technologies

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a significant tool for enhancing customer experience in the tourism and hospitality industries. However, previous research has indicated that individuals’ attitudes toward these burgeoning technologies are ambivalent and shaped by an array of diverse factors. In the current study, we explored the potential impact of ambient light luminance on customers’ and tourists’ acceptance of AI within tourism and hospitality contexts. The results of a field study conducted across multiple locations of a restaurant chain and a series of lab experiments consistently demonstrated that consumers were more likely to adopt AI technologies in brightly lit environments, as opposed to dimly lit ones. Process evidence suggests that this phenomenon occurs because ambient light luminance impacts public self-awareness, which in turn affects perceptions of AI tools. Our research opens up possibilities for designing ambient lighting systems in various settings where human-AI interaction is crucial.