Public Anxieties About AI: Implications for Corporate Strategy and Societal Impact

Michael Gerlich ()
Additional contact information
Michael Gerlich: Center for Strategic Corporate Foresight and Sustainability, SBS Swiss Business School, 8302 Kloten, Switzerland

Administrative Sciences, 2024, vol. 14, issue 11, 1-25

Abstract: This research critically examines the underlying anxieties surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) that are often concealed in public discourse, particularly in the United Kingdom. Despite an initial reluctance to acknowledge AI-related fears in focus groups, where 86% of participants claimed no significant concerns, further exploration through anonymous surveys and interviews uncovered deep anxieties about AI’s impact on job security, data privacy, and ethical governance. The research employed a mixed-methods approach, incorporating focus groups, a survey of 867 participants, and 53 semi-structured interviews to investigate these anxieties in depth. The study identifies key sources of concern, ranging from the fear of job displacement to the opacity of AI systems, particularly in relation to data handling and the control exerted by corporations and governments. The analysis reveals that anxieties are not evenly distributed across demographics but rather shaped by factors such as age, education, and occupation. These findings point to the necessity of addressing these anxieties to foster trust in AI technologies. This study highlights the need for ethical and transparent AI governance, providing critical insights for policymakers and organisations as they navigate the complex socio-technical landscape that AI presents.

Keywords: AI; artificial intelligence; AI anxiety; societal perception; trust; ethical AI; AI regulation; public anxieties (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L M M0 M1 M10 M11 M12 M14 M15 M16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/14/11/288/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/14/11/288/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jadmsc:v:14:y:2024:i:11:p:288-:d:1514234

Access Statistics for this article

Administrative Sciences is currently edited by Ms. Nancy Ma

More articles in Administrative Sciences from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().