Public Perceptions of Artificial Intelligence

Public perceptions of artificial intelligence (AI) are evolving and many use cases demonstrate the positive benefits that it can bring to society across the globe.

Technology is always moving forward as we harness its power to solve problems. However, AI stands apart as a once-in-a-generation shift in the technological landscape. Its immense power not only addresses existing issues but also uncovers new and impressive applications. It's a technology that promises to reshape our world in unprecedented ways and this revolutionary potential partly explains why some people are cautious about AI's impact.

Each year, Bosch releases the global Tech Compass report, surveying over 11,000 people worldwide to determine their attitude towards technology, highlighting public perceptions of technological progress and considering the opportunities and risks of technology. This year’s results were eye-opening. In the Western world, less than half of the respondents agreed that “AI technologies will change the world for the better,” with the perception being much more positive in Eastern countries with 75% in India and 82% in China.

What's even more revealing is the strong consensus on the need for AI-generated content to be labeled. Between 79% and 87% of respondents across all seven countries surveyed agreed that such labeling should be mandatory.

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This could suggest a distrust in AI, and we often see negative reactions towards technologies that have the potential to dramatically change the world, whether it’s the advances in farming machinery in the early 1900s or computing power in the early 2000s. Despite initial fears, both technologies significantly increased efficiency and benefited humanity.

It's too early to tell if AI will have a similar revolutionary impact. However, public perception is likely to take a positive shift if AI is implemented correctly. For example, while people value face-to-face interaction with their doctors, AI can provide more accurate and faster diagnoses, enhancing the quality of care without compromising on the personal touch.

Bosch has a sensor called SoundSee, which listens to sounds and alerts when there is a change in the regular pattern. We have used this sensor to monitor the breathing patterns of children who suffer from asthma, so it can warn parents that the child is about to have an asthma attack before the child has noticed any change in their breathing.

I recently spoke with a start-up involved in dentistry and they said that dentists spend about a third of their time writing up patient notes. This start-up is developing an AI tool that records the dentist's conversation with the patient and automatically generates the report, improving efficiency and allowing them to treat more patients per day, while still ensuring accurate documentation. The patient benefits from this efficiency without being directly aware of the involvement of AI.

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The key message here is that the public shouldn’t fear AI as a disruptive force and worry that their lives are going to be turned upside down, they should instead become educated on how it is quietly working in the background to benefit us as a society.

At Bosch, we see AI as a tool for everybody. We established the Bosch AI Code of Ethics in 2020 to ensure all our AI products and services align with our “Invented for Life” ethos, which combines our innovation at Bosch with social responsibility. If all businesses begin to follow similar guidelines, then the public perception of AI will shift from concern to trust.