GENEVA
While 60 percent people around the world said that products and services using artificial intelligence will make their lives easier, 40 percent admitted that the use of this technology makes them nervous.
According to a report released by the World Economic Forum (WEF), about 60 percent of respondents expect artificial intelligence will revolutionise their daily lives; however, the rest are concerned about its potential impact on fundamental freedoms and rights.
Only 37 per cent of those surveyed expected AI to improve their situation when it comes to freedom and legal rights. To trust AI, people must know and understand exactly what the technology is, what it is doing and its impact, Kay Firth-Butterfield, head of AI and machine learning at the WEF, said.
“Leaders and companies must make transparent and trustworthy AI a priority as they implement this technology … we are focused on multi-stakeholder collaboration to optimise accountability, transparency, privacy and impartiality to create that trust,” Firth-Butterfield said.
The WEF report is based on the findings of a 28-country survey conducted by Ipsos that interviewed 19,504 adults under the age of 75 between November 19 and December 3 last year. Globally, the AI market is booming as governments invest in technology to drive efficiency and savings in the post-pandemic era.
The WEF report also highlights a clear divide between high-income and emerging economies in attitudes towards AI, with optimism higher in emerging economies.
Some 80 per cent of respondents in China and Saudi Arabia expected AI to change their lives, but less than half said the same in Canada, Germany, France, the UK and the US.
When asked whether AI would make their lives easier, respondents were more likely to be optimistic in less economically developed countries. For example, 70 per cent of those surveyed in Peru agreed that AI would have more benefits, as opposed to only 31 percent in France, 32 percent in Canada and 35 percent in the US.
The areas that people expect to change the most due to AI are education and learning (35 percent), safety (33 percent), employment (32 percent), shopping (31 percent) and transport (30 percent).
Only half of respondents said they trusted companies that use AI at the same level as those that do not, with trust in companies that use AI highly correlated with reported familiarity with the technology, the WEF said.
A majority of respondents in emerging countries said they trusted companies that use AI as much as other companies, most notably in China (76 per cent) and India (68 per cent), whereas, only about one third of survey respondents in many high-income countries, including Canada, France, the US and Australia, trusted AI-powered companies.
“With the ability to solve many of society’s pressing issues, we are focused on accelerating the benefits and mitigating the risks of AI and machine learning,” said Ms Firth-Butterfield. “Only then can we gain public trust and benefit from the rewards of emerging tech like AI.”
