Global Opinion on AI Remains Divided, According to Recent Report

AI is likely going to be the single biggest tech trend in recent memory, but in spite of the fact that this is the case, different countries tend to have their own views on whether it is a positive force or a risk. The Lloyd’s Register Foundation revealed how 121 countries feel about the matter at hand, and it seems like East Asia tends to view AI more favorably than might have been the case otherwise.

The way the research worked is that countries received points based on how they perceived AI with all things having been considered and taken into account. A score of lower than 1 point meant that the outlook was mostly negative, whereas anything higher than a 1 indicated that the country in question was actually rather hopeful about what AI can do for them.

On average, East Asian countries received a ratio of approximately 4.4. Coming in second was Northern and Western Europe with a ratio of 1.8, followed by Australia and New Zealand with 1.7. Eastern Europe and Southern Europe rounded off the top five list with 1.4 and 1.3 apiece.

On the other end of the spectrum, Africa turned out to be the most pessimistic region of all in terms of AI. Eastern Africa occupied the very bottom of this list with a ratio of 0.4, indicating that most of the people living there feel like AI will do more harm than good. Southern Africa did not fare much better with a ratio of 0.6, with North and Central/Western Africa receiving ratios of 0.7 and 0.8 each.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that these are not the only regions whose ratios were lower than 1. South Asia and Latin America, which also includes the Caribbeans, had ratios of 0.9 each, thereby showing that AI outlook remains pessimistic in the less developed parts of the world.

There are a bunch of factors that might be influencing people’s perceptions in this regard. Having access to the internet obviously had an impact, with 44% of internet users saying that AI will be positive as compared to just 28% of people that don’t have internet access who said the same.

Religious affiliation also had a surprisingly significant affect on the findings. 48% of people that did not think religion was important said that AI will be a good thing for the world, versus 32% of religious individuals that agreed.

AI has the potential to completely and irrevocably alter the fabric of our society. Hence, its outlook is contingent on whether or not people want to maintain the status quo.