Eighty-three Percent Believe AI Should be Government Regulated
Santa Clara, CA., Dec. 13, 2023 - The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics today announced a new report, Ethics in the Age of AI, which outlines how Americans feel about artificial intelligence (AI) from an ethical standpoint. The Markkula Center and its Institute for Technology, Ethics, and Culture (ITEC) surveyed 3,000 Americans aged 18+ and found that they have concerns about the technology’s impact on the human race.
Eighty-six percent believe the technology companies should be regulated, with 82% caring whether AI is ethical or not. Seventy percent of Americans believe AI companies should temporarily stop developing the technology to allow time to consider its impact on society. In addition, half (51%) of Americans do not trust the companies that are creating AI.
“AI companies are currently engaged in a heated race to develop superior technology,” said Brian Green, director of technology ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University and co-author of Ethics in the Age of Disruptive Technologies: An Operational Roadmap. “Sometimes this means that companies are not stopping to think about the full ethical implications of what they are creating, or the impact to the general public. But the survey results speak for themselves–the general public cares about ethics in technology, particularly with respect to AI.”
According to Ann Skeet, the senior director of leadership ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics and co-author of Ethics in the Age of Disruptive Technologies: An Operational Roadmap, there is plenty for leaders to pay attention to in these findings. “People don’t trust AI companies or believe the companies developing AI are thinking about ethics. This might explain why so many people believe in AI regulation and the government's role in providing it. Leaders can take this opportunity to build trust with key stakeholders by using ethics as they build their AI systems and their corporate cultures.”
While generative AI apps like ChatGPT have become a huge topic of conversation in mainstream media, the survey found that 45% of respondents say they have never used a generative AI tool such as ChatGPT, and only 15% of respondents said they use one regularly. In addition, 31% of respondents didn’t think that AI had an impact on their life or the information they consume.
View the full report, Ethics in the Age of AI.
ITEC is the creator of the handbook, "Ethics in the Age of Disruptive Technologies: An Operational Roadmap,” or, more briefly, the “ITEC Handbook.” This corporate primer offers a practical roadmap with specific recommendations to help organizations address the ethical complexities associated with disruptive technologies such as AI.
Survey Methodology
The data was derived from a survey commissioned by the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics and conducted online via Pollfish on November 7, 2023. Three thousand Americans aged 18 and older participated in the survey. The survey has a margin error of plus or minus 2%. To view the full report, visit: https://www.scu.edu/institute-for-technology-ethics-and-culture/ethics-in-the-age-of-ai/.
About the Institute for Technology, Ethics, and Culture
The Institute for Technology, Ethics and Culture (ITEC), housed at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, is an initiative of the Center which has been developed with support from the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education. The Institute convenes leaders from business, civil society, academia, government, and all faith and belief traditions, to promote deeper thought on technology’s impact on humanity. For more information on ITEC and to access its many resources, see https://www.scu.edu/institute-for-technology-ethics-and-culture/.
About the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University
Founded in 1986 with a seed grant and initial endowment from Linda and A.C. “Mike” Markkula Jr., the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics brings the traditions of ethical thinking to bear on real world problems. Beyond a full range of programs for the Santa Clara University community, the Center also serves professionals in fields from business to health care, from government to the social sector, providing innovative approaches to problems from fake news to privacy protection. Through its website and international collaborations, the Center brings ethical decision-making resources to the wider world. For more information, see www.scu.edu/ethics.
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Contacts:
Joel Dibble
Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
jdibble@scu.edu