While six in 10 people globally expect artificial intelligence to revolutionize their daily lives, a majority are concerned about its potential impact on fundamental freedoms and rights, a report by the World Economic Forum showed.
About 60 percent of respondents said that products and services using AI will make their lives easier, but 40 percent admitted that the use of this technology makes them nervous.
Only 37 percent 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 optimize accountability, transparency, privacy and impartiality to create that trust,” Ms 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 UAE, the Arab world’s second-largest economy, is projected to benefit the most in the Middle East from AI adoption. The technology is expected to contribute up to 14 percent to the country’s gross domestic product — equivalent to $97.9 billion — by 2030, a report from consultancy firm PwC showed.
Overall, investors poured money into AI-focused companies at a historic rate during the Covid-19 pandemic, a separate study by Stanford University showed.
Globally, the AI market is booming as governments invest in technology to drive efficiency and savings in the post-pandemic era.
The UAE, the Arab world’s second-largest economy, is projected to benefit the most in the Middle East from AI adoption. The technology is expected to contribute up to 14 percent to the country’s gross domestic product — equivalent to $97.9 billion — by 2030, a report from consultancy firm PwC showed.
Overall, investors poured money into AI-focused companies at a historic rate during the Covid-19 pandemic, a separate study by Stanford University showed.
Some 80 percent 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.
hen asked whether AI would make their lives easier, respondents were more likely to be optimistic in less economically developed countries. For example, 70 percent 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 the 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 percent) and India (68 percent), 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.”
Good understanding of AI ranged from lows of 41 percent in Japan and 42 percent in Italy to highs of 78 percent in South Africa, 76 percent in Chile and 75 percent in Russia.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Technology Express staff and is published from a syndicated feed)
