The Impact of Corporate AI Washing on Farmers' Digital Financial Behavior Response -- An Analysis from the Perspective of Digital Financial Exclusion

TL;DR

This study examines how corporate 'AI washing'—overstating AI capabilities—negatively affects farmers' engagement with digital finance, especially among socially less connected groups, highlighting the need for better regulation and education.

Contribution

It constructs a corporate AI washing index and analyzes its impact on farmers' digital financial behavior, revealing indirect effects through knowledge and risk exclusion.

Findings

AI washing significantly suppresses farmers' digital financial responses.

Higher AI washing correlates with lower farmers' engagement in digital finance.

Social capital mitigates the negative impact of AI washing.

Abstract

In the context of the rapid development of digital finance, some financial technology companies exhibit the phenomenon of "AI washing," where they overstate their AI capabilities while underinvesting in actual AI resources. This paper constructs a corporate-level AI washing index based on CHFS2019 data and AI investment data from 15-20 financial technology companies, analyzing and testing its impact on farmers' digital financial behavior response. The study finds that AI washing significantly suppresses farmers' digital financial behavior; the higher the degree of AI washing, the lower the response level of farmers' digital financial behavior. Moreover, AI washing indirectly inhibits farmers' behavioral responses by exacerbating knowledge exclusion and risk exclusion. Social capital can positively moderate the negative impact of AI washing; among farmer groups with high social capital, the suppressive effect of AI washing on digital financial behavior is significantly weaker than that among groups with low social capital. In response, this paper suggests that regulatory authorities establish a strict information disclosure system for AI technology, conduct differentiated digital financial education to enhance the identification capabilities of vulnerable groups, promote digital financial mutual aid groups to leverage the protective effects of social capital, improve the consumer protection mechanism for farmers in digital finance, and set up pilot "Digital Inclusive Finance Demonstration Counties," etc.