A new Scopus-indexed book chapter authored by Prof. Dr. Erdogan Ekiz and Prof. Dr. Orhan Uludag examines the challenges and risks associated with artificial intelligence in festival settings. The chapter, titled “When Smart Turns Risky: AI-Enabled Service Failures, Recovery and Justice Perceptions in Festival Experiences,” is published as Chapter 5 in the CABI volume Transforming Festival Experiences with Artificial Intelligence (CAB International, 2026).
The publication explores how AI technologies used in festivals — including crowd monitoring systems, predictive logistics, facial recognition access, personalized recommendation tools, and chatbot-based support services — may also contribute to new forms of service failure. The authors note that such failures can be difficult to detect and resolve, particularly in high-density, time-sensitive, and emotionally charged festival environments.
The chapter highlights that disruptions such as incorrect access decisions, chatbot malfunctions, or AI-driven operational errors may have immediate and lasting impacts on visitor experiences, as recovery opportunities are often limited once the event has passed.
A key focus of the work is the concept of justice perceptions in service recovery. The authors examine distributive, procedural, and interactional justice, emphasizing that effective recovery processes require not only technical solutions but also transparency, clear communication, and appropriate human involvement.
The chapter presents a conceptual framework illustrating how AI-enabled service failures influence visitor complaints, perceptions of fairness, and key outcomes such as satisfaction, trust, and loyalty intentions. It also identifies cultural background and severity of failure as important moderating factors in festival contexts.
The authors suggest that hybrid AI-human recovery systems, multilingual support, accessible complaint channels, and culturally sensitive response mechanisms are essential components for managing AI-driven services in festivals.
The chapter is available in the CABI Digital Library: https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/book/10.1079/9781800628380.0000
