IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/trapol/v174y2025ics0967070x25003993.html

Public perception of AI: The analysis of sentiment towards apollo go based on AG-BCLK model

Author

Listed:
  • Wu, Ji'an
  • Chen, Hong
  • Ma, Wanqi

Abstract

The advent of AI has resulted in a surge in autonomous vehicle technologies in the transportation sector. This research investigates public sentiment in China concerning autonomous taxi technology. A cross-platform, multi-source dataset (AGNet) and a multi-task sentiment-attention classification algorithm (AG-BCLK) are developed to analyze popular acceptance across two dimensions: emotional attitude and public concern. The experimental findings indicate that the AG-BCLK model surpasses other deep learning models in processing text data, with a classification accuracy of 92.5 % for sentiment labels and 86.4 % for attention labels. The study indicated that online comments initially exhibited positive sentiment; but, when adverse public opinion emerged, the proportion of negative sentiment gradually increased, leading to a more negative overall tone in the remarks. Nevertheless, participants in the preliminary testing areas exhibited relatively positive emotional dispositions. Informed by the outcomes of public concern clustering, strategic recommendations are presented for the government to enhance oversight, for enterprises to bolster safety management, and for individuals to proactively adjust to technological advancements, thereby facilitating the robust development of technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Wu, Ji'an & Chen, Hong & Ma, Wanqi, 2025. "Public perception of AI: The analysis of sentiment towards apollo go based on AG-BCLK model," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:174:y:2025:i:c:s0967070x25003993
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2025.103856
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967070X25003993
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.tranpol.2025.103856?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhang, Xiang & Sun, Haojie & Pei, Xiaoyang & Guan, Linghui & Wang, Zihao, 2024. "Evolution of technology investment and development of robotaxi services," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    2. Peng Liu & Run Yang & Zhigang Xu, 2019. "Public Acceptance of Fully Automated Driving: Effects of Social Trust and Risk/Benefit Perceptions," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(2), pages 326-341, February.
    3. Xie, Xiaoyu & Yan, Jun, 2024. "How does artificial intelligence affect productivity and agglomeration? Evidence from China's listed enterprise data," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    4. Cui, Xiling & Zhu, Zhongshan & Liu, Libo & Zhou, Qiang & Liu, Qiang, 2024. "Anomaly detection in consumer review analytics for idea generation in product innovation: Comparing machine learning and deep learning techniques," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    5. Kaplan, Leah & Nurullaeva, Lola & Helveston, John Paul, 2024. "Modeling the operational and labor costs of autonomous robotaxi services," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 108-119.
    6. Zhang, Xi & Cheng, Yihang & Chen, Aoshuang & Lytras, Miltiadis & de Pablos, Patricia Ordóñez & Zhang, Renyu, 2022. "How rumors diffuse in the infodemic: Evidence from the healthy online social change in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    7. Dong, Xuefan & Lian, Ying, 2021. "A review of social media-based public opinion analyses: Challenges and recommendations," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    8. Mo, Lipo & Cui, Zhaoyu & Jia, Rongwen & Dong, Kangyin & Zhao, Chuan, 2024. "How does autonomous vehicles affect taxi industry? A two-stage Van Damme based tripartite evolutionary game perspective," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    9. Sjödin, David & Parida, Vinit & Kohtamäki, Marko, 2023. "Artificial intelligence enabling circular business model innovation in digital servitization: Conceptualizing dynamic capabilities, AI capacities, business models and effects," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    10. Wang, Linhui & Zhao, He & Cao, Zhanglu & Dong, Zhiqing, 2024. "Artificial intelligence and intergenerational occupational mobility," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    11. Pramanik, Paritosh & Jana, Rabin K. & Ghosh, Indranil, 2024. "AI readiness enablers in developed and developing economies: Findings from the XGBoost regression and explainable AI framework," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    12. Yoganathan, Vignesh & Osburg, Victoria-Sophie, 2024. "Heterogenous evaluations of autonomous vehicle services: An extended theoretical framework and empirical evidence," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    13. Zhou, Min & Yin, Jia & Tang, Yu & Yi, Huan & Kong, Nan & Campy, Kathryn S., 2024. "What drives the drivers away? An empirical study on the factors influencing the turnover intention of full-time online ride-hailing drivers in China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    14. Zhu, Weiwei & Wei, Jinmeng, 2025. "Influence of information strategies on behavioral intention to adopt driverless vehicles: Based on a survey experiment," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 318(C).
    15. Li, Huanjie & Zhang, Yuan & Li, Yan, 2024. "The impact of the digital economy on the total factor productivity of manufacturing firms: Empirical evidence from China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    16. Gong, Jindan & Xylia, Maria & Strambo, Claudia & Nykvist, Björn & Celik, Sirin, 2025. "What happened to the driver? Implications of electrification, digitalization, and automation on truck and taxi drivers," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    17. Yang, Zaoli & Wu, Qingyang & Venkatachalam, K. & Li, Yuchen & Xu, Bing & Trojovský, Pavel, 2022. "Topic identification and sentiment trends in Weibo and WeChat content related to intellectual property in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    18. Sun, Yunpeng & Jia, Ruoya & Razzaq, Asif & Bao, Qun, 2024. "Social network platforms and climate change in China: Evidence from TikTok," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chen, Long & Huang, Jiahui & Jing, Peng & Wang, Bichen & Yu, Xiaozhou & Zha, Ye & Jiang, Chengxi, 2023. "Changing or unchanging Chinese attitudes toward ride-hailing? A social media analytics perspective from 2018 to 2021," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    2. Li, Yanlin & Tsang, Y.P. & Lee, C.K.M. & Zhang, Qintian & Chen, Zhen-Song, 2025. "Service area identification for robotaxi deployment: A GIS-based spatio-temporal multi-criteria decision support framework," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 497-512.
    3. Lian, Ying & Tang, Huiting & Xiang, Mengting & Dong, Xuefan, 2024. "Public attitudes and sentiments toward ChatGPT in China: A text mining analysis based on social media," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    4. Shang, Yunfeng & Zong, Yi, 2024. "Role of e-commerce for promoting sustainability in the mining sector," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    5. Cano-Marin, Enrique & Mora-Cantallops, Marçal & Sánchez-Alonso, Salvador, 2023. "Twitter as a predictive system: A systematic literature review," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    6. Sjödin, David & Liljeborg, Alexander & Mutter, Sermed, 2024. "Conceptualizing ecosystem management capabilities: Managing the ecosystem-organization interface," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    7. Ma, Hongchao & Zhang, Haonan, 2024. "Can green energy expansion develop the mineral resource market in East Asia?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    8. Ayala, Néstor Fabián & Rodrigues da Silva, Jassen & Cannarozzo Tinoco, Maria Auxiliadora & Saccani, Nicola & Frank, Alejandro G., 2025. "Artificial Intelligence capabilities in Digital Servitization: Identifying digital opportunities for different service types," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    9. Qian, Lixian & Yin, Juelin & Huang, Youlin & Liang, Ya, 2023. "The role of values and ethics in influencing consumers’ intention to use autonomous vehicle hailing services," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    10. Lin, Yuqian & Zhang, Kenan & Kondor, Daniel & Zhao, Zhan & Ratti, Carlo & Xu, Yang, 2026. "Exploring influential factors of fleet and parking management in shared autonomous vehicle systems: An agent-based simulation framework," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    11. Zehua Li & Jiaran Niu & Zhenzhou Li & Yukun Chen & Yang Wang & Bin Jiang, 2022. "The Impact of Individual Differences on the Acceptance of Self-Driving Buses: A Case Study of Nanjing, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-14, September.
    12. Gu, Yingfan & Wang, Song & Li, Zhixia & Zhang, Guohui & Ai, Chengbo & Li, Pengfei, 2025. "Why to buy or why not to buy? - Revealing the inherent mechanism and the psychological impacts on the behavior of purchasing automated vehicles," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    13. Hao Xu & Peilin Wang & Kai Ding, 2024. "Transforming Agriculture: Empirical Insights into How the Digital Economy Elevates Agricultural Productivity in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-20, November.
    14. Fabrizio Maturo & Donato Riccio & Andrea Mazzitelli & Giuseppe Maria Bifulco & Francesco Paolone, 2025. "Explainable gradient boosting for corporate crisis forecasting in Italian businesses," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 353(2), pages 815-839, October.
    15. Weina Qu & Hongli Sun & Yan Ge, 2021. "The effects of trait anxiety and the big five personality traits on self-driving car acceptance," Transportation, Springer, vol. 48(5), pages 2663-2679, October.
    16. Li, Dun & Huang, Youlin & Qian, Lixian, 2022. "Potential adoption of robotaxi service: The roles of perceived benefits to multiple stakeholders and environmental awareness," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 120-135.
    17. Dai, Xiajing & Zhang, Junjie, 2024. "China's green development journey through resource rent optimization and green finance policies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    18. Zhiwei Liu & Jianrong Liu, 2023. "Shared Autonomous Vehicles as Last-Mile Public Transport of Metro Trips," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-15, October.
    19. Canboy, Başak & Khlif, Wafa, 2025. "Beyond efficiency: Revisiting AI platforms, servitization and power relations from a critical perspective," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    20. Liu, Peng & Xu, Zhigang & Zhao, Xiangmo, 2019. "Road tests of self-driving vehicles: Affective and cognitive pathways in acceptance formation," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 354-369.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:174:y:2025:i:c:s0967070x25003993. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/30473/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.