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Article History

Received: 19 July 2025

Accepted: 5 June 2026

First Online: 20 June 2026

Competing interests

: The authors declare no competing interests.

: This study involved an anonymous questionnaire survey of adult employees working in AI firms in the Yangtze River Delta region of China. The research was conducted as part of doctoral research undertaken while the corresponding author was affiliated with the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA), Thailand. The study did not involve medical intervention, vulnerable populations, minors, or the collection of sensitive personal data. No personally identifiable information was recorded. The study protocol, questionnaire instrument, consent form, and data protection procedures were reviewed by the Institutional Review Board of the International College, National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA), Thailand. On 20 March 2024, the IRB confirmed that the study qualified for exemption from full ethical review on the grounds that it involved minimal-risk, anonymous survey procedures and adult participants only. No reference number was assigned to this exemption determination. All procedures were conducted in accordance with applicable institutional ethical standards, relevant local regulations, and the Declaration of Helsinki, as applicable. Data collection was conducted between 5 June 2023 and 1 September 2023. As the exemption confirmation was obtained after data collection, the ethical determination is retrospective. The review was sought to ensure full transparency and compliance with international publication requirements. The scope of the exemption covered the questionnaire design, participant recruitment, data collection, anonymization procedures, and data analysis.

: Informed consent was obtained electronically from all participants prior to participation. Before accessing the questionnaire, participants were presented with an online consent statement explaining the purpose of the study, the voluntary nature of participation, the anonymity of responses, the absence of foreseeable risks, and their right to withdraw at any time prior to submission without consequence. Only individuals who actively indicated their agreement by selecting “I agree to participate” were permitted to proceed to the survey. All participants were adults (18 years or older). No minors or vulnerable populations were involved in the study. Participants consented to take part in the study and to the use of anonymized data for research and publication purposes.