Dynamics of Emotions Towards AI-Powered Technologies: A Study of GitHub Copilot

The advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) have enhanced its applications in different areas of professional and knowledge work, triggering a range of mixed emotions. Emotions play a key role in how users adopt and continue using technologies. In this paper, drawing on the discussions on the role of AI-powered technologies, future of work, and emotions, we aim to examine the emotions expressed by users engaged a new AI technology, the drivers of those emotions, and their dynamics. Adopting topic modelling, we first studied emotions that the initial launch of Github Copilot evoked by analysing 16,130 tweets shared by 10,301 software programmers on Twitter. Then, we analysed the tweets qualitatively to understand the stimulus characteristics driving those emotions. Finally, focusing on tweets by a sample of software programmers, we explored the changes of their emotions over time. The analysis showed that emotions expressed were mixed driven by four stimulus characteristics: AI development, AI functionality, identity work, and AI engagement. Our findings revealed that when software programmers focus on the capabilities of AI tool and link them to their identity work, their negative emotions change to more positive ones. Our paper contributes to the to the growing body of literature on the role of AI technology and the future of work by showing that emotions are dynamic and knowledge workers might express more positive emotions when they relate it to their identity work and engage more with the AI technology over time. This could lead to perceiving AI less as a threat to their professional identity but viewing it as contributing to their identity expansion.