Visualizing Global Attitudes Towards AI

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 Statement	GDP per capita
China	78%	$12,556
Saudi Arabia	76%	$23,186
India	71%	$2,257
Peru	70%	$6,622
Malaysia	65%	$11,109
Mexico	65%	$10,046
Colombia	64%	$6,104
Chile	63%	$16,265
South Korea	62%	$34,998
Türkiye	60%	$9,661
Brazil	57%	$7,507
South Africa	57%	$7,055
Argentina	55%	$10,636
Russia	53%	$12,195
Spain	53%	$30,104
Italy	50%	$35,658
Hungary	49%	$18,728
Poland	48%	$18,000
Japan	42%	$39,313
Sweden	40%	$61,029
Belgium	38%	$51,247
UK	38%	$46,510
Australia	37%	$60,443
Germany	37%	$51,203
United States	35%	$70,249
Netherlands	33%	$57,768
Canada	32%	$51,988
France	31%	$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 Statement	GDP per capita
China	87%	$12,556
Saudi Arabia	80%	$23,186
Peru	74%	$6,622
South Korea	74%	$34,998
Mexico	73%	$10,046
India	72%	$2,257
Colombia	71%	$6,104
Malaysia	71%	$11,109
Türkiye	71%	$9,661
Chile	70%	$16,265
South Africa	67%	$7,055
Brazil	65%	$7,507
Russia	64%	$12,195
Argentina	59%	$10,636
Spain	59%	$30,104
Poland	58%	$18,000
Italy	54%	$35,658
Japan	52%	$39,313
Hungary	50%	$18,728
Belgium	49%	$51,247
Netherlands	47%	$57,768
Australia	46%	$60,443
Sweden	46%	$61,029
Germany	45%	$51,203
UK	45%	$46,510
Canada	44%	$51,988
United States	41%	$70,249
France	39%	$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 Statement	GDP per capita
China	80%	$12,556
Saudi Arabia	80%	$23,186
South Korea	76%	$34,998
India	74%	$2,257
Türkiye	73%	$9,661
South Africa	72%	$7,055
Malaysia	71%	$11,109
Peru	71%	$6,622
Chile	67%	$16,265
Colombia	65%	$6,104
Mexico	65%	$10,046
Brazil	61%	$7,507
Argentina	60%	$10,636
Russia	60%	$12,195
Poland	56%	$18,000
Spain	56%	$30,104
Hungary	55%	$18,728
Italy	53%	$35,658
Japan	53%	$39,313
Netherlands	53%	$57,768
Belgium	52%	$51,247
Australia	50%	$60,443
Sweden	50%	$61,029
UK	46%	$46,510
United States	46%	$70,249
France	45%	$43,659
Canada	44%	$51,988
Germany	44%	$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 Sector	U.S.	China
Agriculture	1%	25%
Industry	20%	28%
Services	79%	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.