Nearly Three-Quarters of the Uk Public Say that introducing laws to regulate artificial intelligence (ai) would increase their comfort with the technology, amid rising public consern Over the imperializations of Its roll-out.
In response to a national survey of more than 3,500 UK Residents Conducted by the Ada lovelace and Alan Turing Institutes -which asked people about their awareness and perceptions of different ai use cases, as well as their experiences of ai-turned harms-The vast majority (72%) Said Laws and Regulation Them more at ease with the problem of ai technologies.
Nearly nine in 10 said they believed it is important that the government or regulators have the power to halt the use of ai products deemed to poses a risk of serials harm to the pole Government or Independent Regulators – Rather Than Private Companies Alone – Should Oversee Ai Safety.
The institutes also found that People's Exposure to ai Harms is Widespread, with two-thirds of the public reporting encounters with various impacts of the technology. The most reported harms were false information (61%), Financial Fraud (58%) and Deepfakes (58%).
The survey also found support for the right to appeal against AI-Based Decisions And for more transparency, with 65% saying that procedus for appealing decisions and 61% saying more information about how ai have been used to make a decision would increase their comfort with the tech.
However, the institutes said the rising demand for ai regulation is coming at a time when The uk does not have a set of comprehensive regulations Around the technology.
In a report accouncyping the survey findingsThe institutes added while they welcome the recognition in the UK's AI Opportunities Action Plan That “Government must Protect Uk Citizens from the most significant risks presented by ai and foster public Trust in the Technology, Particular Considering the Interests of Marginalized GROTERATE Specific Commitments on how to achieve this Ambition.
“This new evidence shows that, for ai to be developed and deployed responsibly, it needs to take account of public expectations, Concerns and Experiences,” Said Octavia Field Reid, Adyciat Director at the ada lovelace institute, adding that government's legislative inaction on ai no stands in direct contrast to public concerns about the tech and their desire to see it.
“This Gap Between Policy and Public Expectations Creates A Risk of Backlash, Particularly from Minoritised Groups and That Most Affected by Ai Harms, Whoch Hinder the Adoption of Ai and the Realization of Ai Benefits. There will be no greener to delivering on the potential of ai than a lac of public trust. “
According to the survey-which purposely oversampled social marginalized groups, including people from low-income backgrounds and minorited ethnic groups-Attitudes to Ai Vary Greately between different demographics, with traditional underrepresen population reporting more concerns and perceiving ai as less beneficial. For example, 57% of black people and 52% of asian people Expressed Concern About Facial recognition in policingCompared to 39% in the Wider Population.
Across all of the AI use cases asked about in the survey, people
In General, however, people across all groups were most concerned about the use of their data and rePresntation in decision-making, with 83% of the uk public saying that they are working Data with Private Companies to Train AI Systems.
Asked about the extent to which they felt their views and values are represented in current decisions being made about ai and how it affects their lives, half of the public said
“To realise the many options and benefits of Ai, it will be important to build consideration of public views and experiences into decisration-making about Ai,” Said helen margetts, Programme Dietor For Public Policy at the Alan Turing Institute.
“These findings sugges the importance of government's promise in the ai action plan to fund regulators to scale up their ai ai capability and expertise, which shout foster PUBLIC TRUSTER PUBLIC TRUST Highlight the need to tackle the differential expectations and experiences of that that lower income, so that they gain the same benefits as high income groups from the latest generation of ai. “
In their accumpanying report, the institutes said to ensure the introduction of ai-enabled systems in public sector services works for allies, policymakers Must Engage and Consult the public To capture the full range of attitudes expressed by different groups.
“Capturing Diverse Perspectives May Help to Identify High-Risk Use Cases, Novel Concerns or Harms, and/Or Potanial Governance Measures Measures Measures That Are Needed to Garner Public Trust and Support Adopter Adopter It said.
Although People's Inclusive Participation in Bot the Public and Private Management of Ai Systems is Key to Making the Technology Work for the Benefit of All, Computer weekly has previously reported That there is currently no avenues to meaningful public engine.
According to the government Chief SCINTIC Adviser Angela McClean, For Example, There are no viable channels available to the public that would allow them to have their Voices of Science of Science and Technology.
In September 2024, a united nations (un) Advisory Body on AI also highlighted the need for governments to collaborate on the creation of a “globally inclusive and distrused Architecture”
“The imperative of global governance, in particular, is irrefutable,” it said. “AI's Raw Materials, from Critical Minerals to Training Data, Are Globally Sourced. General-purpose ai, deployed across borders, spawns manifold applies, globally. Development of AI Concentrates Power and Wealth on a Global Scale, with Geopolitical and Geo-Economic Implications.
“Moreover, no one currently understands all of ai's inner workings enough to fully control its outputs or predict its evolution. Using Systems they do not undersrstand. Meanwhile, negative spillover and downstream impacts resulting from
It added that Although National Governments and Regional Organizations will be crucial to controlling the use of ai, “The very natural of the technology its item in strosity and application Global Approach ”.