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Published

The authenticity paradox.

International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction · Taylor & Francis

SJR 2025 Q1JCR Ergonomics #2 of 24Impact Factor 2025 6.1CiteScore 2025 10.1h-index 110

Journal standing for the venue of a published article.

Saxena, P., & Prahl, A. (2026). The authenticity paradox: The threshold model of synthetic authenticity. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2026.2680242

DOI 10.1080/10447318.2026.2680242

The authenticity paradox framework showing calibrated sufficiency between too little cueing and too much realism

What the study finds

The foundational study. A map of 2,685 articles and 111 AI-persona studies shows where human cues help and where they start breaking trust.

Where it sits in the programme

This is one of six studies testing synthetic authenticity across care, social robots, AI influencers, classrooms, shopping agents and companion AI. Definitions for every construct used here are on the concepts page. The full programme, with journal standing for each venue, is on the research page.