Abstract
Drawing on generalized analytic induction, we explore the conditions that lead to the emergence of AI mindfulness in the context of policing in England and Wales. We define AI mindfulness as a cognitive state whereby users are aware of their context and are open to value-adding applications of AI tools. Our results show that AI mindfulness emerges either when users mistrust AI and find AI regulations unclear or when they mistrust AI and find AI tools unexplainable. However, if AI users find AI regulations to be clear and AI tools to be explainable, they are more likely to take an ambivalent stance towards AI by both trusting it and mistrusting it simultaneously. Accordingly, we uncover three distinct types of mindful AI users, namely, the AI-regulation sceptic, the AI-opposed adopter and the AI-ambivalent adopter. Our typology has wider implications for the responsible use of AI tools.