The decline in trust comes at a critical time when policymakers around the world are trying to craft regulations for the burgeoning artificial intelligence industry. “Trust is the foundation of the AI era,” Justin Westcott, Edelman’s global head of technology, said in an email to Axios. He warns that the current trust deficit is endangering the future of AI innovation.
Westcott says companies need to look beyond technical advances and focus on the “why” and “who” of AI and look at both its potential benefits and potential drawbacks.
The public wants strong privacy guarantees and rigorous public impact assessments conducted by experts such as scientists and ethicists, according to the research. Westcott emphasizes that transparency, community engagement, and user control are key to restoring trust and ensuring responsible AI development.
Globally, trust in AI companies has fallen from 61% to 53% in just five years. In the US, trust fell further from 50% to 35% over the same period. Trust in AI, in particular, goes beyond political ideologies; Democrats (38%), neutrals (25%) and Republicans (24%) express similar levels of skepticism.
Source: Ferra
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