Opinions and Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence

So far, we’ve talked a lot about how AI has been growing in value, as well as how it has impacted the workplace and jobs market. But that begs the question, with the uptick in AI being so sudden and prominent, how do people actually feel about its use in everyday life?

Well, in spite of early concerns suggesting that AI may be developing too fast, it seems that a sizable majority of people are more than comfortable welcoming AI into their work and home in order to make their lives easier.

Currently, one of the key areas AI is used the most by the general public is with search engines or chatbots, most often when conducting sudden online research or quick fact-checking. And with this being so commonplace, it’s worth considering just how far users actually trust the information that these AI are providing them with. Through our own survey, we asked participants whether or not they actually trusted the information AI provided them with, and the results were rather surprising.

For the most part, when it comes to trusting AI, the answer is a firm yes, with 33% entirely trusting the information that AIs provide them with. This is in comparison to just 10% of people not trusting its reliability at all.

Most interestingly, however, 56% of those who responded said that they do trust the information AI can offer them, but they still double-check it manually afterwards.

What this implies is that, while people are willing to put their trust in AI for information, many still consider it to be in the early stages of development, meaning that mistakes in the information retrieved are not out of the question. Therefore, there is a high chance we’ll see the percentage of outright trust in AI increase as its technology develops and improves in the years to come.

Having touched on a narrow front of opinions here in the US, let’s now zoom back out to a global perspective to get an insight into the wider understanding and opinion of AI, and get a feeling for how people see it impacting their lives.

Referencing data provided by Stanford University, when participants were asked whether or not they had a good understanding of what AI is, 64% responded yes.[1] There was also a similar response trend to questions on whether AI would profoundly change their life in the next five years and whether or not it would make life easier. Again, the response was positive, with 60% of respondents replying yes.[2]

Even on questions relating to knowing which products and services used AI, and whether or not they trusted AI companies as much as non-AI companies, the yes response rate from the participants asked was still 50%[3], which may very well be high than most people anticipated.

So, knowing that the response rate for the majority of questions asked was positive, not only does it back up the suggestion that people trust AI, but it also implies a real willingness for people to integrate AI into their everyday lives in the future.

So, while we now have an idea that the general consensus for AI is positive, let’s break down these results to look at just where in the world this understanding and enthusiasm for AI is coming from.

Touching on AI understanding first, the Stanford University data suggests that the countries with the highest understanding of the topic are actually South Africa, Peru, and Chile. In South Africa, 78% of respondents said yes to this question, while 76% said yes in Peru and Chile.[4] For many, this might be a surprising stat, but it only goes to show just how global AI integration and research has become in a short span of time.

Alongside an understanding of AI, the data also showed similar results when participants were asked whether or not AI would profoundly change their life in the next 5 years, with Saudi Arabian and Chinese respondents replying with a yes rate of 80%.[5]

This was then followed by South Korea, India, and Turkey, all of whom had a 76%, 74%, and 73% response rate respectively[6], further displaying how far-reaching the interest and excitement for AI usage is.

Lastly, for our final section on public sentiment towards AI, let’s once again return to the US to see how people directly feel about the potential benefits of AI applications, particularly when used in the workplace.

Interestingly, when looking at the data provided from our survey, the number one thing respondents appear to be excited about when it comes to AI applications is using them to solve smaller tasks, allowing them to focus on more complex areas – something favored by 46.6% of people we spoke to.

This desire for automating smaller tasks was then closely followed by 45% of people displaying interest in using AI to be more efficient at their job, which further backs up the suggestion that AI will lead to substantial boosts in productivity.

Finally, other areas of interest for AI application also included 41.6% of respondents wanting to use AI to help manage their time better, while another 35.5% see a key benefit of AI being assisting in remote working. Again, this just lends further credence to the productivity potential provided by AI.