54% trust AI not to discriminate, outpacing trust in humans

Algorithmic biases, copyright issues, privacy concerns, layoffs... People aren’t sure whether to trust AI or not. When it comes to discrimination, there’s a twist: in 29 of 32 countries surveyed for The Ipsos AI Monitor 2024, fewer respondents agreed with the statement “I trust people not to discriminate or show bias towards any group of people” than when given the same statement about AI.

As Matt Carmichael, SVP of Global Trends & Foresight at Ipsos Strategy3, says, “So, despite headlines about the bias in AI, we actually trust our fellow humans less than we trust the computers.”

🔍 Ireland is the only country where people trust that humans will discriminate less than AI. In AI-advanced India and tech-neutral Switzerland, trust levels are equal for both. Globally, 54% trust AI not to discriminate or show bias (33% disagree), compared to 45% who trust humans not to discriminate or show bias (45% disagree).

🤖 Biases, whether AI or human, ultimately reflect society. Algorithmic gaps and biases mirror existing injustices, from outdated gender stereotypes to antisemitism. AI could further entrench these prejudices, as shown by PR debacles at Meta and Gemini Google.