Trust in AI companies drops to 35% in new study

Trust in artificial intelligence (AI) companies has fallen by 35% in the US over a five-year period, according to new data.

Data released Tuesday by public relations firm Edelman showed that trust in AI companies also fell eight points globally, from 61 percent to 53 percent.

The waning confidence in the fast-growing tech industry comes as regulators in the U.S. and around the world ponder how to regulate the sector.

When broken down by political party, the researchers found that Democrats expressed the most trust in AI companies at 38 percent — compared with 24 percent of Republicans and 25 percent of independents, according to the study.

According to Justin Westcott, Edelman’s chair of global technology, a number of factors contributed to the decline in trust in data polling companies.

“These include significant privacy invasion concerns, AI’s ability to reduce human contribution, and concerns about unregulated technological leaps that override ethical concerns,” Westcott said. “The data points to a lack of transparency and accountability in how AI companies operate and are linked to social impact.

Edelman highlighted the study’s key findings, saying that technology as a whole is losing its edge in trust among sectors.

“Eight years ago, technology was the most trusted industry in 90 percent of the countries we studied. Now it’s the most trusted in only half,” the researchers wrote, citing 28 countries.

Westcott argued that the findings should be a “wake-up call” for AI companies to “restore trust through ethical innovation, genuine community involvement and partnerships that bring people and their concerns to the forefront of AI development.” in the center.”

As for the impact on the future of the industry as a whole, “social acceptance of the technology is now at a crossroads,” he said, adding that trust in AI and the companies that develop it “is not just a challenge, A must see. But a chance.”

Priorities, Westcott continued, should revolve around ethical practices, transparency and a “relentless focus” on the benefits AI provides to society.

Convergence of trust in AI now calls for a “collective industry effort,” according to research.

The Edelmans Trust Barometer polled 32,000 people in 28 countries, with a margin of error of plus or minus 1,150 respondents.