Poll finds more than half of voters don’t believe government can protect them from AI

A survey has found that a clear majority of voters do not trust the government to protect society from the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI).

The More Common survey appears to demonstrate the scale of the challenge ministers have set themselves as Rishi Sunak hosts the first-ever global summit on AI safety at Bletchley.

The meeting was hailed by some as a success after the tech giants agreed not to bring more powerful artificial intelligence models to market until their safety was tested by governments, although the Prime Minister’s talks with X boss Elon Musk drew criticism elsewhere.

But a poll taken during the summit found that nearly six in ten (59 percent) voters are not confident the government can protect them from AI threats. Only 29 percent are confident, which equates to an overall net worth of -30 percent.

Voters had even less confidence in the government’s ability to protect them from petty crime (-45 percent), violent crime (-34 percent), climate change (-36 percent) and online fraud (-38 percent).

The public also lacks confidence in the government’s ability to protect the UK from another pandemic such as Covid (-30 percent).

However, voters were more confident that Whitehall could protect people from terrorism (-7 percent) and nuclear war (-12 percent).

Luke Thrill, UK director of More in Common, said: “The public view above all that government’s main job is to keep people safe, but as Covid investigations reach the news and scenes of terror in the Middle East, the East dominates. . The public is skeptical about their government’s ability to deal with serious threats.

“Number 10 may be particularly disappointed because instead of reassuring the public that we have mastered artificial intelligence (AI), six in ten people say they are not confident the government will protect them from the risks it poses and brings with it new developments.” Technologies.

“We know the public is concerned about artificial intelligence and how it impacts their jobs and safety.

“If this week’s AI conference was meant to reassure the public that the government has AI risks under control, our research shows they still have a long way to go.”

In response, a government spokesman said: “The UK is a leader in AI safety, securing a pioneering commitment to safe and responsible AI development from 28 countries at the first AI safety summit we hosted, the Bletchley Declaration.”

“The summit also led to agreement on the role government and AI companies should play in AI safety review, and the creation of the world’s first AI Safety Institute here in the UK means we are keeping pace with the global pace necessary to determine this important issue. area.” .”

:: More In Common, a member of the British Electoral Council, surveyed 2,042 British adults between 31 October and 2 November.