My Health Advisor is a Robot: Understanding Intentions to Adopt a Robotic Health Advisor

Abstract

Robots and artificial intelligence (AI) have seen increased adoption in healthcare. These health technologies have the capability of providing tailored messages and feedback to each individual. Thus, a robot can potentially serve as a personal health advisor, particularly for health issues that could be benefited through regular guidance and instructions. However, there is a limited understanding of how people might respond to the idea that their health advisor could be a robot. Thus, the present study employs the technology acceptance model (TAM) to examine intentions to adopt a robotic health advisor. Findings demonstrate that perceived ease of communication with and perceived usefulness of a robotic health advisor positively predict favorable attitudes toward a robotic health advisor, which subsequently leads to strong intentions to adopt it. The present investigation also finds that perceived usefulness of a robotic health advisor directly leads to an individual’s intentions to adopt it. Overall, the present study provides important implications for perceptions of a robotic health advisor.