The Impact of AI-induced Ethical Conflict and the Moderating Role of Psychological Safety on the Mental Health of Accountants in Financial Technology Enterprises in Vietnam

Abstract

Amid the rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within Vietnam's dynamic Fintech sector, this study investigates an emerging psychological challenge: AI-induced ethical conflict (AIEC). The study aims to test the impact of AIEC on the mental health (MH) of accountants, while also examining the moderating roles of psychological safety (PS) and work experience within the context of financial technology (Fintech) enterprises in Vietnam. To achieve this objective, a cross-sectional survey was conducted on a sample of 416 accountants. The data was analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), including Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to validate the measurement scales and multi-group analysis to compare differences between experience groups. The analysis results show that AIEC has a strong, negative, and statistically significant impact on the mental health of accountants (β = 0,38). Notably, the study found that psychological safety, a traditional protective mechanism, did not demonstrate a moderating role in weakening this relationship. However, work experience emerged as a significant moderating factor, with the impact of AIEC on mental health being considerably stronger in the group of accountants with low experience compared to the high-experience group. These findings conclude that traditional psychological protection mechanisms, which focus on interpersonal interactions, may not be effective enough to cope with stressors that are systemic and algorithmic in nature. The study emphasizes the need to develop new intervention strategies, such as "algorithmic safety," and suggests that support programs should pay special attention to young employees, who are the most vulnerable.