83% of Brits Believe AI Can Influence Election Outcomes
London, UK – 12 March 2024 – New research from SurveyMonkey, a global leader in online surveys and forms, sheds light on how Brits believe AI will impact their lives, elections, and the workplace. Ahead of pivotal elections this year in the UK, the research found a striking 83% of British adults believe AI technology can influence voter behaviour and election outcomes. Moreover, a majority (57%) believe AI will negatively impact the integrity of elections.
As leaders and CEOs across the globe gather to discuss how to combat AI threats to governance, 64% of British adults are not confident that current regulations can mitigate the risks of AI, with 77% of people in favour of stricter government regulation.
The research from SurveyMonkey surveyed adults across the UK to understand their views and worries surrounding the impacts of AI in their day-to-day lives. With rapid advancements being made in large language models (LLMs) and generative AI, the technology is becoming more widely available to different industries and individuals. As the use of AI increases, people are concerned about their abilities to identify AI, especially around crucial events such as elections. According to the research, over half (54%) of people aren’t confident they could identify when interacting with AI, and 55% aren’t confident they could identify AI-generated content. Only 11% of Brits noted they were very confident.
Worries around AI content have led to a staggering 87% of people being concerned by deepfake fraud, with women and men (86% v. 89%) and young and older generations (83% v. 88%) all equally concerned. With AI-generated scams on the rise, especially in the workplace, individuals must be trained on how best to spot these scams.
Further, the research found that 70% of people haven’t received any training on AI. While half of people aged 18-34 said they had received training (49%), this percentage dramatically drops to 29% for people over 35, and 4% for those aged 65 and over. For those who noted they had received training, almost a fifth (18%) said it was informal and required them only to read a book, an article, or watch a video.
Zoe Padgett, Senior Research Scientist at SurveyMonkey says, “With elections upcoming in the UK this year, it’s clear that the risks of AI are weighing heavily on people’s minds. Our research has found that almost all Brits surveyed are concerned about the impact of AI in influencing election outcomes, especially considering they aren’t confident they can spot AI generated images and videos.
“While regulations will be largely responsible for how much AI is able to interfere, it’s important that people are familiarised with deepfakes and other content generated from the technology. Our research highlights that with a lack of knowledge present among many, increased education offers the opportunity to raise awareness of AI risks ahead of important events.”
Methodology
This SurveyMonkey poll was conducted February 5-9, 2024, among a national sample of 510 British adults 18+. Respondents for this survey were selected from the SurveyMonkey Audience panel. The modelled error estimate for this survey is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. Data were balanced for age and sex to reflect the demographic composition of each country.
About SurveyMonkey
SurveyMonkey is a global leader in online surveys and forms that empowers people with the insights they need to make decisions with speed and confidence. Our fast, intuitive feedback management platform connects millions of users worldwide with real-time AI-powered insights that drive meaningful decisions. We provide answers to more than 20 million questions every day so that people and organizations can attract new audiences, delight customers, create advocates, and extend their competitive advantage in the marketplace. Our vision is to raise the bar for human experiences by amplifying individual voices. Learn more at surveymonkey.com.
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