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Visualizing Global Attitudes Towards AI

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Comparing Public Sentiment Towards AI, by Country

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the fastest growing and most disruptive technologies in the world today. Because it has the potential to drastically impact society, it’s important to measure how people are feeling towards it.

This infographic visualizes survey data from market research firm, Ipsos, to see how attitudes towards AI varies by country. By including each country’s GDP per capita, we can see that wealthier populations are more skeptical about products and services that use the technology.

Data and Methodology

This data is based on a 28-country survey of 19,504 adults aged 18 to 74. Polling took place between November and December 2021, and the results were published in January 2022.

This survey took place before the recent explosion in popularity of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, DALL-E, and Midjourney, but forms the foundation for how people view this rapidly improving technology.

The table below lists the percentage of respondents who agreed with the following statement:

“Products and services using artificial intelligence have more benefits than drawbacks”

Country% Agreeing With StatementGDP per capita
China78%$12,556
Saudi Arabia76%$23,186
India71%$2,257
Peru70%$6,622
Malaysia65%$11,109
Mexico65%$10,046
Colombia64%$6,104
Chile63%$16,265
South Korea62%$34,998
Türkiye60%$9,661
Brazil57%$7,507
South Africa57%$7,055
Argentina55%$10,636
Russia53%$12,195
Spain53%$30,104
Italy50%$35,658
Hungary49%$18,728
Poland48%$18,000
Japan42%$39,313
Sweden40%$61,029
Belgium38%$51,247
UK38%$46,510
Australia37%$60,443
Germany37%$51,203
United States35%$70,249
Netherlands33%$57,768
Canada32%$51,988
France31%$43,659

GDP per capita as of 2021. Source: World Bank

Ipsos notes that their samples from developing economies like China and India were “more urban, more educated, and more affluent than the general population”. Thus, the results for these countries likely reflect the more tech-savvy segments of their population.

Further Survey Results

Respondents were asked additional questions about AI, which we’ve included in the tables below. Let’s start with this statement:

“Products and services using artificial intelligence make my life easier”

Country% Agreeing With StatementGDP per capita
China87%$12,556
Saudi Arabia80%$23,186
Peru74%$6,622
South Korea74%$34,998
Mexico73%$10,046
India72%$2,257
Colombia71%$6,104
Malaysia71%$11,109
Türkiye71%$9,661
Chile70%$16,265
South Africa67%$7,055
Brazil65%$7,507
Russia64%$12,195
Argentina59%$10,636
Spain59%$30,104
Poland58%$18,000
Italy54%$35,658
Japan52%$39,313
Hungary50%$18,728
Belgium49%$51,247
Netherlands47%$57,768
Australia46%$60,443
Sweden46%$61,029
Germany45%$51,203
UK45%$46,510
Canada44%$51,988
United States41%$70,249
France39%$43,659

As expected, we see a similar trend as in the previous question’s results. It seems that developing countries are embracing AI to greater lengths.

Next, we’ll look at a more forward-looking statement:

“Products and services using AI will profoundly change my daily life in the next 3-5 years”.

Country% Agreeing With StatementGDP per capita
China80%$12,556
Saudi Arabia80%$23,186
South Korea76%$34,998
India74%$2,257
Türkiye73%$9,661
South Africa72%$7,055
Malaysia71%$11,109
Peru71%$6,622
Chile67%$16,265
Colombia65%$6,104
Mexico65%$10,046
Brazil61%$7,507
Argentina60%$10,636
Russia60%$12,195
Poland56%$18,000
Spain56%$30,104
Hungary55%$18,728
Italy53%$35,658
Japan53%$39,313
Netherlands53%$57,768
Belgium52%$51,247
Australia50%$60,443
Sweden50%$61,029
UK46%$46,510
United States46%$70,249
France45%$43,659
Canada44%$51,988
Germany44%$51,203

Once again, populations from wealthier countries are at the lower end of the results. This could be due to societal factors (differing attitudes towards technology), economic structure, or some combination of both.

To elaborate on economic structure, let’s look at the world’s two biggest economies, the U.S. and China. The following table shows the distribution of each country’s workforce across the three major sectors.

Economic SectorU.S.China
Agriculture1%25%
Industry20%28%
Services79%47%

As of 2019. Source: Statista

Developing economies such as China have a larger proportion of agricultural and industrial employment, while advanced economies like the U.S. are typically more services oriented. Structural differences such as these could have an impact on how a population views AI.

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