INTRODUCTION
Barely a week goes by, it seems, without a
provocative and usually fear-inducing media
headline about Artificial Intelligence and its
potential to reshape the world as we know
it. High profile figures in the technology world
in particular, notably Tesla’s Elon Musk, have
issued multiple public warnings about the
potential for AI based weapons developed
for warfare to become dangerously
‘autonomous’, while others, including
Alibaba’s Jack Ma, have warned of mass
job losses in coming decades.
Meanwhile, the business world continues to
scramble to understand how they can best
implement AI into everything from back-end
and operations to product development,
CX and marketing. The growth in chat bots
will attest to that, with ING Direct the latest
Australian organisation to announce plans
to employ the use of bots on social media.
But little is heard about what consumers —
who are at the very heart of business, big and
small — actually understand of AI. Do they
even know what it is? What do they make
of all of the hype and the ‘man vs machine’
vision of the future painted by the likes of Elon
Musk? And as consumers, what are their
comfort levels around the use of AI in the
touch points they interact with every day?
To explore perceptions, Ipsos conducted a
survey amongst a representative sample of
more than 1000 Australians, which revealed
that most people understand little about the
Brave New World: Are consumers ready for AI? | | Ipsos
Ipsos
range of technologies that fall under the AI
banner and what they do know is informed by
Hollywood — ‘the Terminator effect,’ if you like.
The research also reveals that Australians
are conflicted about the role of technology
in their lives more broadly, as well as the role
of AI. They’re not quite sure whether to be
afraid or hopeful.
However, one thing is certain. A majority —
7 in 10 — believe that the labour market of
the future will be radically reshaped, resigning
themselves to a tomorrow where many jobs
are done by robots. Further — more than 6 in
10 — believe that replacing human workers
with AI will be bad for society.
With so much concern about particular
elements of AI taking, perhaps the most
pressing job of business is to first educate
consumers and then to address and alleviate
their fears.
In addition to outlining the research findings,
we’d like to share the thoughts of Ipsos
Director of Behavioural Science, Dr Pascal
Bourgeat. In his piece, ‘Hello to the Age of
Cognition,’ Pascal explores AI through the
lens of Behavioural Science and sets the
scene for what AI really can do.
Kirsten Riolo
Director, Ipsos
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