Subjective Knowledge and AI Privacy Risks

Authors

Mari Paalimäki
University of Jyväskylä, School of Business and Economics
Juha Munnukka
University of Jyväskylä, School of Business and Economics
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18690/um.fov.4.2026.68

Synopsis

Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are increasingly used in everyday decision-making, but the adaptive and opaque nature makes them difficult to understand, creating uncertainty in evaluating risks. Prior research has examined privacy risk through factors such as trust and perceived control but lacks an explanatory mechanism for how individuals assess such risk in AI context. This study explores the role of subjective knowledge, defined as individuals' perceived understanding of a system, in shaping privacy risk perception using a pilot experiment with two modalities (text vs. voice). The results suggest that subjective knowledge is associated with privacy risk perception and usage intention, providing preliminary insight of the underlying mechanism and highlighting its importance in AI-based interaction.

Author Biographies

Mari Paalimäki, University of Jyväskylä, School of Business and Economics

M.Sc. Mari Paalimäki is a Doctoral Researcher of Marketing at Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics (Finland). Her research focuses on privacy decision-making in the age of AI systems, with a particular emphasis on the perspective of consumer behaviour. Alongside her research work, she teaches and supervises theses in the Department of Marketing at Jyväskylä University of School of Business and Economics.

Jyväskylä, Finland. E-mail: mari.s.paalimaki@jyu.fi

Juha Munnukka, University of Jyväskylä, School of Business and Economics

Dr Juha Munnukka is a Senior Researcher of Marketing at Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics (Finland). His research interests include consumer behaviour, digital and AI-powered marketing communication, and influencer marketing. He has led and participated in several research projects and is currently leading a project on AI-powered virtual influencers. Munnukka has published in various academic journals such as the Journal of Interactive Marketing, Industrial Marketing Management, Computers in Human Behavior, Journal of Marketing Management, Journal of Service Theory and Practice, and Journal of Product and Brand Management. 

Jyväskylä, Finland. E-mail: juha.t.munnukka@jyu.fi

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Volume

39th Bled eConference: Co-Creating Human-Centred and Responsible Digital Futures; Conference Proceedings

Pages

1034-1050

Published

June 5, 2026

Series

Bled eConference

Categories

Copyright (c) 2026 University of Maribor, University of Maribor Press

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Paalimäki, M., & Munnukka, J. (2026). Subjective Knowledge and AI Privacy Risks. In D. Vidmar, A. Pucihar, M. Kljajić Borštnar, R. W. H. Bons, M. Glowatz, & H.-D. Zimmermann (Eds.), & (Ed.), 39th Bled eConference: Co-Creating Human-Centred and Responsible Digital Futures; Conference Proceedings (Vols. 39., pp. 1034-1050). University of Maribor Press. https://doi.org/10.18690/um.fov.4.2026.68