Can AI be a moral victim? The role of moral patiency and ownership perceptions in ethical judgments of using AI-generated content

The broad adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI), especially Generative AI, raises pressing questions about how users interact with these systems to produce new content. In this paper, we introduce the concept of authorship calibration, defined as users awareness of their actual authorship when interacting with AI. Using the CoAuthor dataset, we empirically examine how authorship calibration varies across users and how it relates to their frequency of AI use. Our results reveal high variability: users relying heavily on AI tend to misjudge their authorship, whereas those using AI less frequently exhibit more accurate authorship calibration. These findings suggest that AI can obscure users perception of their own authorship. In learning contexts, miscalibration can affect metacognitive monitoring and learning strategies, ultimately impacting learning outcomes. Fostering authorship calibration then appears essential for promoting responsible and educationally meaningful AI integration.

As AI enters creative practice, audiences face growing uncertainty in judging authenticity and value. This study examines the Struggle Premium, the added value attributed to perceived human effort, by analyzing how visible effort cues influence evaluations of human- and AI-generated creative works. We surveyed 70 university students, focusing on process videos, time documentation, written explanations, and imperfections. Process-oriented cues, especially videos and time spent, most strongly shaped authenticity and value judgments, while imperfections had limited impact. Participants showed a clear preference for human-made works, with 72.9% willing to pay more. Notably, effort cues also improved perceptions of AI-generated content, suggesting that process transparency can partially bridge authenticity gaps. These findings extend the effort heuristic to algorithmic creativity and inform the design of transparent human-AI creative systems.

Consumers are generally resistant to Artificial Intelligence (AI) involvement in moral decision-making, perceiving moral agency as requiring uniquely human traits. This research investigates whether consumers might instead accept AIs in the role of moral compliance, where AI upholds pre-existing moral norms without exercising subjective discretion. Across five studies this research shows that consumers evaluate AI more positively than human agents in moral compliance roles. The findings reveal that this preference arises from inferences of AI's lack of ulterior motives, which are often attributed to human agents. While previous studies have focused on AI as a decision-maker, this work demonstrates the critical role of upholding pre-existing rules, a role in which AI is perceived to excel. These findings contribute to understanding consumer acceptance of moral AI and provide actionable insights for organizations seeking to leverage AI in ethical oversight. By positioning AI as a moral compliance agent, companies can address consumer skepticism, enhance trust, and improve perceptions of corporate ethicality.