We study how exposure to news about AI affects trust, compared to news about non-AI scientific progress, based on a survey experiment within a nationally representative panel in the United States (N = 1491). The results show that people trust AI advancements less than non-AI scientific developments, with significant variations across domains. The trust gap between AI and non-AI advancements is the smallest in medicine, a high-stakes domain, and largest in the area of personal relationships. The key mediators are context-specific: fear is the most critical mediator for linguistics, excitement for medicine, and societal benefit for dating. Personality traits do not affect trust differences in the linguistics domain. In medicine, mistrust of AI is higher among respondents with high agreeableness and neuroticism scores. In personal relationships, mistrust of AI is strongest among individuals with high openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness. Furthermore, mistrust of AI advancements is higher among women than men, as well as among older, White, and US-born individuals. Our results have implications for tailored communication strategies about AI advancements in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The professional education of future lawyers must prioritize the cultivation of resilience as a core competency. Resilience enables legal professionals to manage stress, prevent burnout, and sustain psychological well-being amid the demanding nature of legal practice. The legal field is characterized by high workloads, intellectual intensity, and emotional pressures arising from litigation, client relations, and decision-making under uncertainty. These conditions often lead to fatigue, irritability, and loss of motivation, ultimately impairing professional performance. Empirical research reveals that more than half of practicing lawyers report high or extreme levels of stress, frequently accompanied by emotional exhaustion and apathy. Contributing factors include excessive caseloads, exposure to distressing information, and the constant need to anticipate legal risks. As technology continues to transform the legal sphere particularly through artificial intelligence and automation lawyers face new challenges that require continuous learning digital literacy, and adaptability. Therefore, legal education should incorporate systematic approaches to strengthen students’ psychological preparedness. Evidence-based training programs focused on emotional regulation, communication, and self-management can help students build sustainable careers and maintain well-being. Integrating resilience development into the curriculum ensures that future lawyers remain effective, ethical, and mentally balanced professionals in an ever-changing legal and technological environment.
