Artificial Intelligence: threat or opportunity - opinions are divided

Respondents around the world are almost equally divided on the prospects for the use of artificial intelligence in the near future. Nearly a third (31%) of respondents believe AI will bring new opportunities, while more than a third (38%) believe artificial intelligence could create additional challenges. A quarter of participants (24%) described themselves as insufficiently informed on this issue, so they could not decide on an answer. 

Russians are generally more sceptical about the use of artificial intelligence. One in five (19%) hope that AI will bring new opportunities. Every third person (34%) stated about the problems that may arise in the widespread application of AI. 30% of our compatriots are insufficiently aware of the problem. 

These are the results of an international survey conducted at the end of 2023 by Gallup International, an association of independent research agencies, in 44 countries around the world; in Russia, the survey was conducted by ROMIR.

Data source: Gallup International and ROMIR, 2023

The survey showed that young people are generally more optimistic and see more opportunities in the development of AI, while older generations are more concerned. More educated respondents are also slightly more optimistic about AI than those with lower levels of education.

Regionally, there is a marked division of opinion between North/West and South/East countries. For example, in the US, Canada and Europe, the share of those who expect additional challenges with the development of new technologies reaches half of all respondents, while about 20-25 per cent hope for new opportunities. In India, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, by contrast, concerns about AI are still present, but more people tend to expect opportunities from AI developments.

ROMIR President Andrey Milekhin comments: “Economically developed countries are generally more wary and even conservative about the development of artificial intelligence. The newer world, on the contrary, looks at the prospects for the introduction of new technologies with hope. It is possible that in the near future the spread of AI will change the market and the very notion of ‘work’. And this can lead to two opposite consequences: either the gap between the so-called Golden Billion, or more precisely the Platinum Million, and the rest of the billions of earthlings will deepen with the more intensive introduction of artificial intelligence, or a New World will be born”.

*The End of the Year Project surveyed more than 40,000 people in 44 countries in October-December 2023. In each country, the surveys were conducted using national or urban samples. It is not possible to verify the quality of primary data collection for a number of countries. In Russia, the ROMIR research company interviewed 1,500 respondents using a nationally representative sample.