Kim, O., & Noh, G. Y. (2025). Identity and Fairness: How Users Accept AI Moderators in Online Communities. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction,  1-18.

ABSTRACT 

This  research investigated the determinants affecting the acceptance of AI moderators in online forums. Procedural and interactional justice significantly influenced community identification and social comparison. Identification completely mediated the connection between procedural justice and acceptance of AI moderators, indicating that equitable processes foster AI adoption via users’ sense of belonging rather than dir- ectly. AI anxiety diminished the beneficial impacts of interactional justice on identifica- tion and social comparison, although exerted no significant influence on procedural justice connections. The results indicate that psychological and societal factors, in addition to technological aspects, affect the acceptance of AI moderators. For practi- tioners, these findings suggest prioritizing transparent procedures and collective participation structures as foundational elements in AI system design, as procedural fairness proves robust even among anxious users, while identity-based design that strengthens users’ sense of membership becomes critical for successful AI integration in online communities.