Growing concerns about how companies use AI

Author Moonshot.news

Published on: 27/10/2023

Access to information from authorities and companies are mostly via digital tools. And each device, site or app collects, analyses and uses personal data. More than 70% of users are worried about this collection of their data and they don’t trust the way companies use artificial intelligence, a US survey from Pew Research Center shows.

About seven in ten adults (71%) say they are very or somewhat concerned about this, up from 64% in 2019. Concern has grown among Republicans and those who lean Republican but has held steady among Democrats and Democratic leaners.

Among those who have heard of artificial intelligence (AI):

• 70% say they have little to no trust in companies to make responsible decisions about how they use AI in their products.
• 81% say the information companies collect will be used in ways that people are not comfortable with
• 80% say it will be used in ways that were not originally intended.

“Still, 62% of those who have heard of AI say companies using it to analyze personal details could make life easier”, the survey says.

• 78% say they trust themselves to make the right decisions to protect their personal information. But 61% are sceptical anything they do will make much difference. And only about one-in-five are confident that those with access to their personal information will treat it responsibly.
• 56% say they always, almost always or often click “agree” without reading privacy policies.

People are also largely sceptical that privacy policies do what they’re intended to do. 61% think they’re ineffective at explaining how companies use people’s data.

About seven-in-ten Americans are overwhelmed by the number of passwords they have to remember. 45% report feeling anxious about whether their passwords are strong and secure.

“Despite these concerns, only half of adults say they typically choose passwords that are more secure, even if they are harder to remember. A slightly smaller share (46%) opts for passwords that are easier to remember, even if they are less secure”, the Pew report says.

• 26% say someone put fraudulent charges on their debit or credit card.
  – 11% say they have had someone take over their email or social media account without their permission.
• 7% have had someone attempt to open a line of credit or apply for a loan using their name.

“Americans have little faith that social media executives will protect user privacy. Some 77% of Americans have little or no trust in leaders of social media companies to publicly admit mistakes and take responsibility for data misuse.”

“They are no more optimistic about the government reining them in: 71% have little to no trust that tech leaders will be held accountable for their missteps.”

There is bipartisan support for more regulation to protect personal information. Some 78% of Democrats and 68% of Republicans think there should be more government regulation of what companies can do with customers’ personal information. These findings are largely similar to a 2019 survey, which also showed strong support for increased regulation across parties.

89% are concerned about social media sites knowing personal information about children. 85% are concerned about advertisers using data about children’s online activities to target ads to them and 84% are worried about online games tracking children on the internet.

“When it comes to who should be responsible for protecting kids’ online privacy, a vast majority (85%) says parents should bear a great deal of the responsibility. Still, roughly six-in-ten say the same about technology companies, and just under half believe the government should have a great deal of responsibility.”