Image source, Getty Images
- author, Tom Singleton
- role, Technology reporter
The survey found that very few people regularly use “highly hyped” artificial intelligence (AI) products like ChatGPT.
The researchers surveyed 12,000 people in six countries, including the UK, and found that only 2% of British respondents said they used such tools regularly.
But a Reuters Institute and Oxford University study found that younger people are bucking the trend, with 18-24 year olds being the most enthusiastic adopters of the technology.
The report's lead author, Dr Richard Fletcher, told the BBC there was a “mismatch” between the “hype” around AI and “public interest” in it.
The survey explored views on generative AI tools – a new generation of products that can provide human-like answers to simple text prompts in addition to images, audio and video.
Generative AI came into public attention when ChatGPT was released in November 2022.
The attention OpenAI's chatbot generated sparked an intense arms race among technology companies, which have since poured billions of dollars into developing their own generative AI capabilities.
But the study shows that despite all the money and attention being poured into generative AI, it hasn’t yet become part of people’s everyday internet use.
“The majority of the public are not particularly interested in generative AI, with 30% of Brits saying they have never heard of any of the best-known products, including ChatGPT,” Dr Fletcher said.
Hope and Fear
The new generation of AI products has also sparked intense public debate as to whether it will have a positive or negative impact.
The survey sought to gauge what the general public thought and found the following:
- Most people expect generative AI to have a major impact on society over the next five years, particularly in the areas of news, media, and science.
- Most people believe that generative AI will make their lives better.
- When asked whether generative AI would improve or worsen society overall, people were generally pessimistic.
“People's hopes and fears about generative AI vary widely across disciplines,” Dr Fletcher told the BBC.
“People are generally optimistic about the use of generative AI in science and medicine, but are more wary of its use in news and journalism, worrying about the impact it will have on job security.”
He said the study shows it's important for everyone, including governments and regulators, to add nuance to the discussion around AI.
The findings are based on responses to an online survey conducted in six countries: Argentina, Denmark, France, Japan, the UK and the US.
