A Neural Investigation of Trust in Digital Influencers

Virtual agents based on artificial intelligence have become increasingly popular on social media. Examples of Lil Miquela or
Shudu Gram show how completely artificial agents can have a significant influence on our social lives, and especially social
media marketing. However, it stands to question how these virtual influencers are actually perceived by consumers, whether they
trust them more than live influencers, and whether there are unconscious processes that are driving their ability to influence.
Since trust and social processes are routed in brain regions, a neuroimaging experiment using both EEG and fNIRS is to be
conducted to receive deeper insights. There are brain signals that have already been established to correlate with interesting
measures, such as trustworthiness, attention, and emotional valence. Results will show how differently virtual influencers are
perceived and processed when compared to human influencers. From this, findings inform both theory and practice and help to
more effectively plan and design virtual influencers.

Faculty Supervisor:

Colin Conrad

Student:

Partner:

Universität Duisburg-Essen

Discipline:

Business

Sector:

Entertainment and Media; Information and Communications Technology; Technology

University:

Dalhousie University

Program: