[TMP-131] What idea of AI? Social and public perception of AI

Contact person: Laura Sartori, (l.sartori@unibo.it)

Internal Partners:

1. Università degli studi di Bologna (UNIBO), Laura Sartori, l.sartori@unibo.it
2. Umeå University (UMU)
3. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)

We want to conduct empirical research that explores the social and public attitudes of individuals towards AI and robots. AI and robots will enter many more aspects of our daily life than the average citizen is aware of while they are already organizing specific domains such as work, health, security, politics and manufacturing. Along with technological research it is fundamental to grasp and gauge the social implications of these processes and their acceptance into a wider audience.

Some of the research questions are:

1. Do citizens have a positive or negative attitude about the impact of Ai?
2. Will they really trust a driverless car, or will they passively accept a loan or insurance’s denial based on an algorithmic decision? Do states alone have the right and expertise to regulate the emerging technology and digital infrastructures? What about technology governance?
3. What are the dominant AI’s narratives in the general public?

Results Summary

The Bologna survey collected around 6000 questionnaires. Data analysis on the Bologna case study revealed a quite articulated picture where variables such as gender, generation and competence resulted crucial in the different understanding and knowledge about AI.

AI Narratives sensibly vary across social groups, underlying a different degree of awareness and social acceptance. The UMEA and CNR surveys had more problems in the collection phase, while the implementation and launch of the surveys were smooth and on time.

Tangible Outcomes

1. “A sociotechnical perspective for the future of AI: narratives, inequalities, and human control, in Ethics and Information technology”. L. Sartori, Laura, A. Theodorou. Published in Ethics and Information Technology 24.1 (2022) https://link.springer.com/ https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10676-022-09624-3
2.  Sartori, Laura, and Giulia Bocca. “Minding the gap (s): public perceptions of AI and socio-technical imaginaries.” AI & society 38.2 (2023): 443-458. https://philpapers.org/rec/SARMTG 
3. slides: https://www.humane-ai.eu/_micro-projects/mps/MP-17/UNIBO_sartori_What%20idea%20of%20AI_141021_Berlin.pptx