Poll Finds Majority Lack Trust in Artificial Intelligence

Public trust in artificial intelligence remains low, with a recent poll revealing only 13% of respondents believe AI is trustworthy and beneficial, while a majority express concerns about its safety, fairness, and limitations, particularly in large language models. Experts and users highlight AI's constraints, such as lack of true understanding, creativity, and autonomy, emphasizing that AI functions more as an advanced tool than a genuinely intelligent entity. Despite these concerns, AI is increasingly transforming sectors like investment management, where private equity firms leverage AI for deeper data analysis and competitive advantage, shifting decision-making towards a more data-driven culture. Additionally, AI offers significant benefits including automation, efficiency, innovation, and personalization, although challenges such as job displacement, embedded biases, and high costs persist. Ethical issues, particularly AI biases stemming from flawed data, have led to real-world consequences, exemplified by Amazon's scrapped recruitment tool that favored male applicants due to biased training data. These varied perspectives underscore that while AI holds transformative potential, it also requires cautious development, stronger safeguards, and ongoing scrutiny to address its limitations and societal impacts.