Most New Zealanders worry about AI’s risks, even as many expect to use it – new survey |
Depending on which headlines we read, artificial intelligence (AI) could be one of humanity’s greatest advances – or one of its gravest threats.
It might transform the way we work, or take away our jobs altogether. Cure diseases, or create dangerous new biological threats. Make the world a better place, or pose an existential threat to humanity.
Whatever we make of these competing predictions, AI has become a major political issue, with its risks and benefits attracting growing media attention ahead of New Zealand’s election next month.
So what do Kiwis actually think of it?
Our latest survey of 972 New Zealanders in September, reveals a public divided over AI’s potential benefits but broadly united in concern about its risks.
While attitudes towards AI were similar among Māori and Pākehā, Māori respondents expressed greater concern about how their data might be used.
The findings also support earlier international research suggesting New Zealanders are particularly sceptical of the technology.
Mixed views, common concerns
To gauge public opinion, we used an established scale for measuring attitudes towards AI. Our survey results were weighted to reflect New Zealand’s population by age, gender, ethnicity and education.
Views were evenly divided, with roughly a third of respondents positive, a third neutral and a third negative. Yet 57% expected to use AI in the future. Men were generally more positive about AI than women, as were Asian respondents compared with Māori and........