The landscape surrounding AI tools reflects a rapidly evolving digital environment, with these technologies increasingly integrated into various aspects of daily life and work. With advances in machine learning and natural language processing, AI tools not only improve productivity but also raise questions about privacy, job loss, and ethical considerations. As society navigates the benefits and challenges that AI brings, discussions about regulation, human oversight, and ethical development of AI are becoming increasingly prevalent.
From February 2-4, 2024, we surveyed Canadians about their opinions and perceptions on the use of AI tools and their impact on society.
Use of artificial intelligence tools is on the rise
- Nearly one-third of Canadians (30%) have used artificial intelligence tools at work or school (15%) or in personal situations (22%). This represents a five-point increase from February 2023 (25%). Canadians aged 18-34 (68%) are more likely to use AI tools.
- Of those who have used an AI tool, 71% rated their experience as very good (16%) or good (55%), while 29% had a negative experience.
- Three-quarters (76%) of Canadians use the free version of ChatGPT (ChatGPT3), and 15% use the paid version (ChatGPT4).
- Content creation tools that generate text, images and video (such as ChatGPT) are becoming increasingly familiar: one-third of Canadians (32%) say they are familiar with these tools, a significant increase from 2023 (25%).
Canadians increasingly wary of AI tools
- Nearly one-third of Canadians (31%) believe AI tools will be good for society, while roughly the same proportion (32%) believe AI tools will be bad, and 37% say they don't know. There is a significant increase in those who believe AI tools will be bad for society, increasing from 25% in 2023 to 32% in 2024.
- Eight in 10 Canadians (81%) are concerned that society will become too reliant on these tools, and the same proportion (81%) have privacy concerns.
- Compared to 2023, 11 percentage points more Canadians believe AI tools will be so powerful that they could surpass humans (63% in 2024 compared to 52% in 2023), and 5 percentage points more Canadians believe AI tools will threaten human jobs (75% in 2024 compared to 70% in 2023).
- The biggest concerns Canadians have about AI tools are a lack of emotion and empathy (22%), fears that society will become too dependent on these tools (20%) and the threat to human jobs (16%).
- 80% of currently employed Canadians believe AI tools will impact their jobs within the next 12 months, with nearly a third (29%) believing they will have a big impact.
- More than half of Canadians trust AI tools to complete tasks at home (58%), access personal information using facial recognition or other biometrics (53%), and answer questions about products and services on websites via chat (50%). Canadians trust them less for other uses such as teaching your children (15%), finding a life partner online (18%), getting you from one place to another without a driver (23%), and answering clinical, health or medical questions for you or your family members (30%).
methodology
The web survey was conducted among 1,614 Canadians aged 18 years or older randomly selected from LEO's online panel from February 2-4, 2024. With panel surveys, it is not possible to associate a margin of error with a non-probability sample. By comparison, a probability sample of 1,614 respondents would have a margin of error of ±2.44% 19 times out of 20.
