The Wade Test: Generative AI and a CEO Bot

Prithwiraj (Raj) Choudhury, Bart Vanneste, and Miros Zohrehvand

Working paper

Generative artificial intelligence (Gen-AI) is transforming employees’ individual work, as well as their communication with other organizational actors. Increasingly, this communication is generated by AI bots, some of which are designed to mimic a specific individual. This study investigates whether Gen-AI can mimic a human CEO and whether employees display aversion to Gen-AI communication. We present a framework of Gen-AI aversion that distinguishes between a strong form (unrelated to Gen-AI’s performance) and a weak form (related to Gen-AI’s performance), and potential Gen-AI failures. In a field experiment with a firm, we extend the idea of a Turing test (i.e., a computer mimicking a person), to the idea of AI mimicking a specific person, namely the CEO. We call this the “Wade test” and assess if employees can distinguish between communication from their CEO and communication generated by an AI trained on the CEO’s prior communication. We find that responses are correctly identified 59% of the time, slightly better than random chance. When employees believe a response is AI generated, regardless of its actual source, they perceive it as less helpful. A second study with a general audience, using public statements from CEOs and from an AI intended to mimic those CEOs, finds that AI-labeled responses (irrespective of their actual source) are rated as less helpful. Taken together, our findings provide evidence of strong algorithm aversion to the use of Gen-AI in impersonating communication.

Link to full article