Colleen Kirk
Colleen Kirk is the New York Institute of Technology professor interviewed by Stephanie Hughes in Is "made by humans" the new premium label?. In the episode, Kirk explains research on how consumers respond when products, advertising, communications, or artwork are described as AI-generated.
Her main contribution to the wiki is the consumer-behavior side of AI trust. She argues that AI-authorship labels can reduce trust, perceived authenticity, purchase intent, and word of mouth, especially where a product or message is emotionally meaningful or identity-linked. She also distinguishes AI as author from AI as tool: when humans lead and AI assists or edits, the negative response can disappear.
Key Claims
- AI-generated labels can reduce consumer trust and perceived authenticity.
- Emotional, identity, and self-expression categories are more exposed than utilitarian categories.
- Consumers may pay more for human-made products because they infer care and personal expression.
- Human-led AI assistance is received differently from AI-led work that humans only edit.
- Gen Z consumers may be more skeptical of AI-generated ads than older consumers in the research Kirk cites.
Connections
- Marketplace Tech and Stephanie Hughes - interview setting.
- New York Institute of Technology - academic affiliation in the source.
- Human Authorship Premium, Algorithm Aversion, and AI Authorship Presence - concepts grounded by Kirk’s comments.
- AI-Generated Advertising, AI Content Provenance, and AI Assistant Augmentation - adjacent advertising, disclosure, and tool-use frames.