YouGov poll finds 59% of Britons view AI companies unfavorably

A recent YouGov survey found that 59% of UK citizens have a very or somewhat unfavorable opinion of AI companies. The figure is higher than for energy utilities (54%), arms manufacturers (52%), news media and Big Tech (50% each), and fast-food companies (49%).

Views differed most by how often people use AI, rather than by political party or gender, according to the survey. Daily AI users were the only group in which positive sentiment (41%) exceeded negative sentiment (34%). Unfavorable views rose among weekly users (52%), less frequent users (55%), former users (69%) and people who had never used AI (76%). YouGov concluded that Britons are more likely to view AI companies positively the more they use AI.

Social media companies had a higher unfavorable rating, at 64%. Tobacco and gambling companies remained the least popular types in the survey.

Separate research by the UK's Office for National Statistics found that 38% of British adults think AI brings more risks than benefits. The survey also found that 32% would not trust AI to handle any of the tasks it asked about. YouGov previously reported 14 common themes in responses from more than 1,200 UK adults explaining their views on AI, including environmental impacts, human connections, regulation and governance, employment impacts, misuse and bias.