Private Law Theory

ABSTRACT
As generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) technologies rapidly permeate higher education, they introduce ethical, social, and environmental challenges that necessitate effective governance. While prior research suggests that individual technology-related risk perceptions shape their regulatory preferences, less is known about how these risk perceptions, along with individual technology experience, influence attitudes towards alternative regulatory approaches. STEM faculty, who advance scientific knowledge and prepare the next generation of the workforce, are particularly critical to this discussion. Understanding their risk perceptions and regulatory attitudes is essential for informing the development of policies, norms, and codes of conduct that promote the responsible development and use of GenAI. This study investigates how STEM faculty’s experience with GenAI relates to their perceptions of two key risks – agency loss and privacy breaches – and how these perceptions shape their regulatory preferences shortly after the rollout of publicly accessible GenAI systems. Using structural equation modeling on 2023 survey data from academic scientists and engineers at US research-intensive universities, we find that (1) greater experience with GenAI is associated with lower levels of perceived risk, and (2) risk perceptions exert distinct influences on regulatory preferences. Specifically, perceived risk related to agency loss increases support for centralized regulation but not for hybrid governance involving multiple stakeholders, whereas perceived risks over privacy breaches predict greater support for hybrid governance structures without affecting support for centralized regulation. These findings highlight how experience and risk perceptions shape regulatory preferences, offering insights to inform governance strategies for GenAI in academic contexts.

Ma, Jinghuan and Chen, Tipeng and Zuo, Rong and Frandell, Ashlee and Arroyo-Machado, Wenceslao and Johnson, Timothy and Welch, Eric and Michalegko, Lesley, Generative AI Experience, Risk Perception and Regulatory Attitudes From the Perspective of STEM Faculty in the United States. Posted to SSRN 24 September 2025.