Artificial intelligence (AI) can generate high-quality destination images to attract prospective visitors. The perceived authenticity of these images can determine the extent to which tourists will patronize a destination. This study proposes the concept of AI-thenticity defined indexically as the originality of artificial intelligence-generated content and iconically as how accurately and faithfully artificial intelligence-generated content reproduces the original. Experimental research design is employed to explore the relationships between AI- versus human-made (labelled and non-labelled) destination photos, perceived authenticity, trust, congruence, and patronage intentions. The results show that perceived authenticity of AI-generated images positively influences trust, and patronage intentions. Notably, congruence between AI-generated images and tourists mediates the relationship between AI-thenticity and patronage intentions. Although perceived authenticity is more pronounced for human-generated images, perceived authenticity of AI-generated content is significant, especially if it is non-labelled. Theoretically, the study demonstrates how AI-thenticity can aid in understanding the concept of authenticity in a rapidly digitizing world. Practically, the study shows the potential of AI for destination management and marketing.

中文翻译：

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AI 随机性：探索 AI 生成的视觉内容的感知真实性对游客光顾意图的影响


人工智能 （AI） 可以生成高质量的目的地图像来吸引潜在游客。这些图像的感知真实性可以决定游客光顾目的地的程度。本研究提出了 AI-thenticity 的概念，该概念在索引上定义为人工智能生成内容的原创性，在标志性上定义为人工智能生成的内容如何准确和忠实地再现原始内容。采用实验研究设计来探索人工智能与人造（标记和非标记）目的地照片、感知真实性、信任、一致性和赞助意图之间的关系。结果表明，AI 生成图像的感知真实性对信任和赞助意愿产生积极影响。值得注意的是，AI 生成的图像与游客之间的一致性中介了 AI 随机性与顾客意愿之间的关系。尽管人类生成的图像的感知真实性更为明显，但 AI 生成的内容的感知真实性很重要，尤其是在未标记的情况下。从理论上讲，该研究展示了 AI-thenticity 如何帮助理解快速数字化世界中的真实性概念。实际上，该研究表明了人工智能在目的地管理和营销方面的潜力。