Half of Irish Aren't Confident in Identifying AI-Generated Content
Dublin, Ireland – 12 March 2024 – With rapid advancements being made in large language models (LLMs) and generative AI, Irish people are concerned about the impacts of AI, especially around crucial events such as elections, according to recent research from SurveyMonkey, a global leader in online surveys and forms.
Almost half (48%) of Irish people aren’t confident they could identify when interacting with AI, while 53% aren’t confident they could identify AI-generated content like articles and images. These worries around AI content have led to a staggering number of people being concerned by deepfake fraud (89%), with women and men (91% v. 87%) and young and older generations (90% v. 89%) all equally concerned. With AI-generated scams on the rise and the next Irish general election about a year away, this generates concerns for electoral integrity.
According to the research, 88% of those surveyed believe AI can influence voter behaviour and election outcomes, with over half (64%) of Irish believing that the technology will harm the fairness of next year’s elections. As leaders across Europe gather to discuss how to combat AI threats to governance, just 36% of people are confident in the ability of current regulations to manage and mitigate the risks of AI, with 70% of people in favour of stricter government regulation.
However, a major factor in the understanding of AI and AI-generated content is education. The research found that, despite businesses' plans to integrate AI into their offerings, 73% of people haven’t received any training on AI. While 44% of people aged 18-34 said they had received training, this dramatically drops to 22% for workers over 35. For those who noted they had received training, a fifth (20%) 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, “AI content is on the rise. From images to videos and music, our research confirms AI-generated content is becoming increasingly harder to spot. A primary concern among Irish people is deepfake fraud. When it comes to next year’s elections, there is an imminent worry that the integrity of these will be at risk.
“It’s clear from our research that people need to be familiarised with deepfakes and content generated from the technology, given a lack of knowledge present among many. Thus, increased education offers the opportunity to raise awareness of AI risks, especially ahead of important events.”
Methodology
This SurveyMonkey poll was conducted February 5-9, 2024, among a national sample of 514 Irish 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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