Global Acknowledgment of AI Risks Fuels Calls for Regulation

 

Tracking Global Events | June 6, 2023

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT permeate daily life, policymakers and the public are beginning to discuss how they should be regulated. As AI tools become increasingly integrated into society, it is essential to recognize and assess the risks associated with their misuse. Bad actors can easily use AI to assist in deploying scams, phishing attacks, and other fraudulent activities. As a result, stakeholders from governments, private sector, and academia are engaging in discussions on ensuring the ethical and responsible development, deployment, and use of AI. Until a regulatory framework is finalized, governments are taking several different paths: Italy has temporarily banned AI tools such as ChatGPT, while India decided against regulating AI within the South Asian market in the short term. To better understand global sentiment surrounding the regulation of AI, Premise fielded a survey in Brazil, Italy, Kenya, Taiwan, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

In recent months, there has been a surge in the number of politicians, academics, and industry experts advocating for AI regulation. However, the question of assigning responsibility for this crucial task remains unresolved. Across several countries, a significant number of respondents believe the government should take the lead on regulating AI: Taiwan (53%), Italy (41%), United Kingdom (41%), and United States (39%). However, a majority of Contributors from Brazil (51%) and Kenya (50%) believe that tech companies should bear the responsibility.
People worldwide are engaging with AI chatbots, not only for entertainment but also for practical purposes, including work-related tasks and academic assignments. Brazil (39%), Kenya (35%), and the United Kingdom (30%) were found to have the highest percentage of Contributors using AI chatbots to assist with work-related tasks (see Figure 3). Additionally, Brazil (22%), Kenya (22%), and the United States (12%) have the highest percentages of students using AI chatbots in an academic setting.
Since OpenAI released ChatGPT in November, several prominent organizations have launched their own AI chatbots. According to our Contributors, ChatGPT remains the clear favorite across all countries: 45% stated that ChatGPT is the only chatbot they’ve ever used, 45% also believe ChatGPT provides the highest quality of responses, and 34% feel ChatGPT is the most user-friendly. And as evidence of how AI is already embedded into daily life, a majority of all respondents said they use AI chatbots at least once a week: Brazil (82%), Kenya (82%), United States (71%), United Kingdom (71%), Italy (65%), and Taiwan (54%).

Methodology

Premise conducted a comprehensive cross-cultural survey targeting Contributors from diverse regions of Brazil, Italy, Kenya, Taiwan, United States, and United Kingdom, to gather sentiment data regarding Artificial Intelligence. The survey collected sentiment data from a stratified sample of 3,002 adults, 500 from each country, nationally representative by age and gender.

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