SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE OF AI

 

·   

       written by Brenda Ochieng 

   Visualize waking up to a world where machines are copiously integrated into our daily lives. Envision the possibility of normal human functions being equated or exceeded by fully functioning machines. Various film genres have presented a pretty convincing picture of what that life would look like hence allowing our imagination to deviate from reality and experience the excitement and fear of the prospect of artificial intelligence in equal measure.  This concept is gradually turning into reality with the introduction and use of moderate artificial intelligence systems globally.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become gradually prevalent in recent times. It has restructured the workforce and eclipsed our aptitude to fulfill ordinary activities mostly because it goes above and beyond the formalities of human interaction. It has also carried with it a wave of alteration in the way we interrelate with technology and subsequently how we embrace or dismiss the prospect of that interaction.

One of the most reflective reactions to AI that quickly morphed into a trending topic globally was the usage and rapid surge of chatbots like Chat-GPT variations, Mid Journey and Tesla’s self-driving car amongst students, creative artists and car enthusiasts respectively. Generative Pre-trained Transformer-based chatbots is an AI language model that has been trained on vast quantities of data to generate human-like text. GPT-based chatbots are able to grasp and respond to ordinary language in a way that was formerly not possible, making them much more effective at delivering customer service (Browne, 2023), According to the website, Mid Journey is an independent research lab that explores new mediums of thought and expands imaginative powers of the human species. The aforementioned systems generated immense levels of excitement amongst its users and word spread like bushfire within the circles of early adopters and those with a glimmer of curiosity. Over the course of this scientific development, we have encountered a shortage of those who are presumed to be against the use of AI systems.

The ensuing belief is that AI has obscured originality and turned a significant number of people into apprehensive individuals who can only see the world of technology through our own fears. On the contrary, the excitement is quite evident amongst those who yearn for a way to simplify tasks or lift the burdens that cripple the progression of their day-to-day activities. For example, voice activated assistants like Siri, Google Assistant and Amazon were classified as necessities particularly to those who prefer talking rather than typing. This subset of AI gained favor and was easily accepted globally. It also created an opportunity to foster the relationship between human and technology.

On the flip side of the coin, there were growing concerns about Alexa devices’ ability to listen even when they are not actively being used. An amazon user claimed that her Amazon Echo device had logged a private conversation between her and her husband without her consent. To add on to that, Alexa’s responses to questions about world domination fueled anxiety amongst its users in 2018 and 2019.

Prior to the controversies that arose from connoisseurs, some AI users were oblivious of their encounter with Artificial Intelligence systems in their regular lives. They naturally followed the trend without paying much attention to the background information.

In 2018, the Nielsen Norman Group conducted research with the sole purpose of detecting the attitudes that various users have towards Artificial Intelligence and its associated subsets. This study revealed that users are well acquainted with the fact that their supposedly intellectual assistants are not copiously intelligent.  

Despite the lack of comprehensive understanding vis-à-vis the confines of these subsets of Artificial intelligence, they still view the responses from AI assistant subsections like Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant as strange or childlike. The outcomes of this study also revealed that users still have a long way to go before they trust a high-tech intellectual assistant. (Labuheimer,2018)

Despite the many benefits of AI, there is a cynical perception about AI. Some of the major concerns are loss of income, the potential threat to privacy and the predisposed nature of AI subsets. For example, facial recognition systems have been shown to be less precise for people with darker skin tones, pointing out the need for better diversity and inclusivity in AI development (Sumanth, 2013)

Exploring societal views on adoption of AI

According to a Pew Research Center survey that was carried out between 2021 to 2023, a mounting percentage of Americans voiced trepidation about the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in our daily lives. 10% of the participants expressed more exhilaration than apprehension while 36% said they felt an equal combination of these sentiments. The results of this survey allude that the level of concern about AI goes hand in hand with public awareness. It further states that the more aware a person is about AI, the greater the level of concern as opposed to the level of excitement. Concern outweighed excitement by 47% to 15% in December 2022; an increase in the margin from 31% to 23% in December 2021. These fears are largely prompted by cyber dystopia; the fear of losing power to machines. AI systems have been hastily integrated into our mode of operation such that that the various concerns, while acknowledged, have since ceased to make an impact.

Based on an independent study done from a total sample size of 75 participants from Nairobi. Kisumu and Nakuru, 24% of the total percentage expressed concerns about the existence of AI mainly because the developers have not been entirely forthcoming about their related systems. 8% of the total sample of participants of different demographics stated that were unaware that some of the applications on their phones were powered by AI subsets. Those who did not care about AI systems accounted for 16% of the total sample, 14% were trend followers and 38% expressed enthusiasm about the current state and the future of AI.  Most of these interactions with AI have been smartphone related and access to services like banks and hospitals

Another concern is the potential for AI to be distorted or abused. For example, AI-powered self-directed weapons and surveillance have the potential to cause significant harm and raise anxieties about accountability and responsibility. In addition to this, the use of AI in surveillance and law enforcement raises queries about discretion and civil rights. Facial recognition systems like Worldcoin elicited considerable rejection due to concerns over privacy and concealed misuse.

AI received acceptance amongst students in higher institutions of learning but was shunned as a reference point amongst those who are tasked with imparting knowledge in those intuitions. Businesses like banks, Telecommunication companies and hospitals embraced AI mainly because it presented a more organized system that made their customers happy and happy customers translate to long term profitability.

In conclusion, there have been considerable amounts of paise and concerns regarding AI systems and all related variations. At this present moment, AI remains a welcomed guest mainly because its existing capacity has not yet superseded humanity. It has also graced us with immeasurable power that is equally consequential.  Even with limited information about its modus operandi and the various ways that it has been used and misused, it is fair to say that this might be an underhanded deal that is working quite well so far.

 

References

Browne R. (2023) All you need to know about ChatGPT, the A.I. chatbot that’s got the world talking and tech giants clashing https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/08/what-is-chatgpt-viral-ai-chatbot-at-heart-of-microsoft-google-fight.html

Kennedy B. Tyson A. Saks E. (2023). Public Awareness of Artificial Intelligence in Everyday Activities

https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2023/02/15/public-awareness-of-artificial-intelligence-in-everyday-activities/

Kelly S. (2023) What factors contribute to the acceptance of artificial intelligence? A systematic review. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0736585322001587

Labuheimer P. Budiu R. (2018). Intelligent Assistants: Creepy, Childish, or a Tool? Users’ Attitudes Toward Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri https://www.nngroup.com/articles/voice-assistant-attitudes/#:~:text=Users%20in%20our%20study%20reported,ask%20for%20directions%20while%20walking.

Sumanth P. (2013) Negative attitude Towards AI and its Relationship with the cultural dimension of power distance