Free Essay: The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use Theory (UTAUT)

The unified theory of acceptance use of technology is a theory extensively used in explaining the degree of acceptance of using information technology. The approach is fundamental in weighing and appraising of users on whether they will be able to accept the introduction of new technologies in the organization and the capability of users to deal with it. Also, the technology acceptance model is of great importance to managers as it aids in decision making by assessing the establishment of new technologies in the organization and helps managers in motivating the users to embrace the systems. Therefore, the questions on the attitudes of the users towards accepting ICT solutions are answered using the theory. Four concepts comprise UTAUT invented by Venkatesh et al. (2003) which includes performance expectancy, facilitating conditions, social influence, and the effort expectancy concept. Notably, the four main concepts forms in depended variable that influences depended on variables like gender, age, experience, behavioral and usage, and system use volunteers affect dependent variables indirectly through the four main concepts (Taiwo, & Downe, 2013)

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Vankatesh et al. (2003) define performance expectancy as the scope to which a person trusts that through the use of the system his or her operation will progress. Consequently, the expected performance is hypothesized to moderate behavior intention influence by age and gender. Effort expectancy is the scale associated with using the system; this is hypothesized to manage the influence on behavioral intent by experience, gender and age (Venkatesh et al., p. 2003). Furthermore, social influence measures the extent to which one recognizes the importance of other users trust that he or she should use the contemporary system and lastly, facilitation conditions is the scale to which one considers that the organization has the required technical infrastructure to aid the new structure. As a result, facilitation condition is hypothesized in moderating how age and experience influence behavioral intention. (Venkatesh et al., p. 2003)

Factors that affect the acceptance and adoption of AI for Public Relations professional in the UAE

Artificial intelligence in public relations have challenges that emerge from day to day in public relation. For example, AI has one track mind. Most of AI implementation presently are highly specialized commonly referred to as applied AI that is explicitly created or carrying out the specific task and learning to perfect it in UAE. Notably, it simulates the expected action after the combination of input values after that measures the results until it achieves the most useful output. It is noteworthy to point out that there is no neural network worldwide hence no method can be trained to identify objects, images and listening to songs.

Other challenges are: Lack of emotional intelligence; AI applications in UAE lack emotional intelligence, and most notably, they cannot exhibit empathy, and this is a considerable obstacle to AI success in the application of customer service. For example, chatbots. Nevertheless, specific customer service queries can attain or break a customer affiliation.

Challenge of access to data; massive and clean data sets which have minimum biases is required in training the learning algorithm of machines. As such, data privacy issues arise as harvesting of data is needed in AI in the public relation industry

Building trust: trusting the use of AI in public relation is a challenge as AI is perceived as a black box where people feel uncomfortable where they do not understand how decisions are made using AI in public relations.

"For example, the banks use linear math's algorithm in explaining the trail from the input to the output, for example, denying mortgage to an applicant because they are not employed (Venkatesh et al., p. 2003).

With multi-layer neural networks, the typical human does not have an understanding of how predictions are made based on things not well versed by the users hence that's going to make people uncomfortable. Also, lack of people power where until very recently, AI did not have an extensive mass market. It has been perceived to be a reserve of science fiction movie writers working in the depths of the research labs in universities hence inadequate funds allocated to AI especially in public relation.

The four constructs of UTAUT can be applied to explore the factors affecting the adoption of AI or public relations in the UAE. Therefore, it aids in measuring the performance expectancy level of AI which helps in improving work performance. Moreover, effort expectancy, the degree to which one perceives AI is easier to use in UAE is explored using UTAUT. Here, all the challenges, for example, one track mind, and lack of emotional intelligence of AI in public relation are measured.

The facilitation conditions, the degree to which the users of AI believes that they have the adequate, valid state and appropriate infrastructure in readiness for AI in public relation at the organization in UAE. Lastly, UTAUT helps in measuring the social influence of AI in public relation (Taiwo, & Downe, 2013). The users of AI should belief in the system to support and interact with the technology. Consequently, the degree to which the users perceive the importance of using AI in UAE organizations is explored in evaluating the acceptance and adoption of public relations.

Bibliography

Venkatesh, V., Morris, M.G., Davis, G.B. and Davis, F.D., 2003. User acceptance of information technology: Toward a unified view. MIS quarterly, pp.425-478.

Taiwo, A.A. and Downe, A.G., 2013. The theory of user acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT): A meta-analytic review of empirical findings. Journal of Theoretical & Applied Information Technology, 49(1).