(NewsNation) — Tech companies are racing ahead in the creation of artificial intelligence but more than half of Americans are increasingly concerned about the role AI may play in people’s lives.
New data from Pew Research Center showed 52% of Americans said they were more concerned than excited about AI in everyday life, and another 36% described themselves as equally concerned and excited. Just 10% said they were more excited than concerned.
Overall, Americans supported AI that would help with routine or basic tasks, like household chores, as well as helping find products and services they are interested in. There is also optimism that AI could help remove racial and ethnic bias in health care or hiring.
However, there are also fears AI use could harm human relationships or cause job loss. Surveillance and privacy were two other areas of concern for a majority of Americans who worried about how personal information would be used.
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While there were concerns about AI, there were some areas where people were more excited about the use of AI. Pew found 90% of Americans said they have heard at least a little about AI, but only 30% of adults could correctly identify all six examples of AI they were shown. Those with a college degree or higher level of education were more likely to be familiar, as were men and younger adults.
Americans don’t necessarily have experience using AI, even if they are familiar with it, like the 58% of adults who heard of ChatGPT. Despite that, just 18% of adults said they had used the AI tool. Teens from 13 to 17 were only slightly more likely to have used the tool, with 19% using it for school. The teens surveyed said ChatGPT was acceptable for researching new topics, but a majority said it wasn’t acceptable to use the tool to write essays.
A majority of Americans think AI will have a major impact on workers but few think they will personally be affected. The majority of adults also oppose using AI for final hiring decisions or tracking workers’ movements.
Americans were also uneasy about AI in health care, with six in ten saying they would be uncomfortable if a provider relied on AI when treating them. Just 38% thought AI would lead to better outcomes in health care. However, when it comes to screening tests, 65% supported the use of AI in skin cancer screening, where it has been shown to be highly accurate.
Americans also backed regulations for emerging AI technology, with a majority being concerned governments would not regulate chatbots enough rather than being concerned about overregulation. A full 87% of adults also wanted higher testing standards for driverless vehicles, raising corners about unanticipated vulnerabilities and risks that might arise.