Creative Artificial Intelligence and Narrative Transportation

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used to accomplish complex tasks, including the creation of artworks and entertainment products. Our focus here is on user responses to AI systems as authors of fictional stories. Across two experiments, we examined how the information that a story was written by AI influences narrative transportation and related experiences. In Experiment 1 (N = 325) the information that an AI had created a short story (contemporary fiction) reduced narrative transportation into this story. Experiment 2 (N = 489) was an extended replication in which genre differences (contemporary fiction vs. science fiction) were addressed. As expected, ostensible AI authorship reduced transportation, but this effect was qualified by genre: Whereas the AI-authorship effect was replicated for contemporary fiction stories, transportation did not differ between human and AI authorship when participants read science fiction stories. Across both experiments, individual differences (openness, affinity for technology and attitude toward AI) did not moderate the effect of AI authorship on any of the dependent variables.