Varför ska jag ta mig tid att läsa? : AI och autenticitet i digital kommunikation

Sammanfattning

The use of AI writing tools is rapidly increasing and transforming the conditions for digital communication. This study aims to investigate how the use of AI writing tools affects the perception of authenticity in digital communication, from both the sender’s and the receiver’s perspectives, a dual perspective that remains relatively underexplored. The study is based on a quantitative survey with qualitative elements, conducted with 49 respondents in Sweden. The survey combined Likert scales with open-ended responses to capture both general attitudes and more nuanced experiences.The results show that senders experience the strongest sense of authenticity and ownership when they actively edit and shape AI-generated texts, rather than when AI produces the entire text independently. For receivers, authenticity is fundamentally linked to perceived effort and thoughtfulness rather than to how the text was produced. When a message is perceived as generic or impersonal, it is interpreted as a lack of engagement, regardless of whether AI was used or not. The study also identifies a transparency paradox, where neither concealing nor openly disclosing AI usage fully preserves authenticity. Hidden use risks increasing the receiver’s suspicion, while open use is penalized through what is described as the AI Disclosure Penalty. As a result, the sender is placed in a dilemma with no clearly correct course of action. The conclusion is that AI tools appear to be changing not only how texts are formulated but also influencing the social conditions of digital communication. The study contributes a dual-perspective approach within a Swedish context and highlights the need for further research into how norms surrounding AI usage evolve over time.