Cross-cultural comparison of preferences for the external appearance of artificial intelligence agents

We analyzed international differences in preferences related to the two dimensional (2D) versus three dimensional (3D) and male versus female external appearance of artificial intelligence (AI) agents for use in self-driving automobiles. We recruited 823 participants in five countries (South Korea, United States, China, Russia, and Brazil), who completed a survey. South Korean, Chinese, and North American respondents preferred a 2D appearance of the AI agent, which appears to result from the religious or philosophical views held in countries with a large or growing number of Christians, whereas Brazilian and Russian respondents preferred a 3D appearance. Brazilian respondents’ high rate of functional illiteracy may be the reason for this finding; however, there were difficulties in identifying the reason for the Russian preference. Furthermore, men in all five countries preferred female AI agents, whereas South Korean, Chinese, and Russian women preferred female agents, but in the United States and Brazil women preferred male agents. These findings may offer valuable guidelines for design of personalized AI agent appearance, taking into account differences in preferences between countries and by gender.