Study points to opportunity for governments to work with public on use of AI
Why it matters: The study points to a temporary opportunity for governments to shape public opinion on AI governance through education.
- Professor Yotam Margalit (King's College London) and Dr. Shir Raviv (Tel Aviv University) conducted a study of over 1,500 workers, published in the British Journal of Political Science, to understand how AI experience and information influence public attitudes.
- Participants' direct experience with an "AI boss" significantly affected job satisfaction and performance but did not alter their views on AI's role in public policy decisions (e.g., policing, welfare, education).
- Exposure to new, objective information about AI's societal impacts was the primary catalyst for changing opinions, with participants becoming more supportive after learning benefits and less supportive after learning risks like racial bias.
- The research indicates that public attitudes toward AI governance are flexible and not politically aligned, highlighting the potential for public education to shape views and create a broad coalition for AI governance centered on public interest.
A new study reveals that direct experience with AI has little impact on public opinion regarding its use in government; instead, objective information significantly shifts views, even when contradicting pre-existing beliefs. This suggests a critical opportunity for governments to educate the public and foster a broad, non-partisan coalition for AI governance focused on public interest.
