New research has found that the British public are in favor of increased regulation and more accountability in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
An independent survey of 2000 adults in the UK by AI firm Fountech.ai discovered that 64% of respondents would like to see the introduction of additional regulation to make artificial intelligence safer.
Concern over the safety of AI varied according to age, with younger respondents adopting a more relaxed attitude. While 73% of those aged over 55 supported the introduction of extra guidelines to improve safety standards, only 53% of those aged between 18 and 34 concurred.
Britons also wanted to see companies take more accountability, with 72% of people believing that companies that develop AI should be held responsible for any mistakes that the technology makes. At 81%, those aged over 55 were the most likely to hold this view, while at 60%, millennials were the least likely to agree.
The research, which was published today, revealed that Brits have high expectations regarding AI’s performance and capabilities. The view held by 61% of respondents was that AI should not be making any mistakes when making decisions or performing an analysis.
While positive assumptions may prevail regarding the might of the technology’s functional prowess, more than two-thirds of those surveyed felt that AI should be kept under the watchful eye of mankind. The survey found that 69% think that a human being should always be monitoring and checking decisions made by AI.
Again, the more seasoned respondents were typically more in favor of human monitoring, with 77% of over-55s stating that AI’s decisions should be checked and monitored.
When questioned about the chances of AI making a miscalculation, researchers found that 45% of survey respondents said it is harder to forgive errors that are made by machines than it is to forgive mistakes made by humans.
This result concerning the ability to forgive mistakes was similar across the various age demographics surveyed.
Nikolas Kairinos, founder of Fountech.ai, said: “While lawmakers may need to refine responsibility for AI’s actions as the technology advances, over-regulating AI risks impeding the potential for innovation with AI systems that promise to transform our lives for the better.”