The Responsible Technology Adoption Unit's (RTAU) fourth Public Attitudes to Data and AI Tracker Survey findings have been published, identifying changes since previous reports. 

The survey captures the views of over 5,000 people from across the UK to map 

evolving public perceptions, aspirations, and concerns since 2021. The latest findings offer fresh perspectives on the use of data-sharing and AI in public services, ensuring that new initiatives—such as the National Data Library—align with public values and earn trust.

There were six key themes which this survey sought to gauge public attitudes on. Those themes, and key points, include:

1. Views on the use of data in society

Previous reports found that the public's perception of data aligned with the perceived prevalence of social media narratives around data, suggesting that media stories have an impact in shaping public opinion of data. This continues to be the case in the fourth wave of surveying. Although, the results of this wave have shown that there is growing public trust and recognition that data can be useful in designing products and services that benefit them. 

2. Trust in data actors and preferences for data sharing

The results have shown that public preferences for data sharing are influenced by the organisations that are involved rather than how the data is used or the safeguards in place. Those that are digitally disengaged tend to have less trust in data actors and across all groups the NHS and academic researchers rank high in trust compared to that of social media companies and the Government. 

3. Familiarity with AI

Whilst there has been an increase in those that are aware of AI and could explain the term, there are still concerns regarding AI and as such this has affected the public associations with it. The survey has shown that younger people, those of higher socioeconomic status and London residents have reported higher levels of familiarity. 

4. Use of AI chatbots and knowledge of how AI is trained 

Survey results show that 6 in 10 members have used chatbots in the past three months, with over 4 in 10 members having used it at least once a month. However, despite the growing popularity, 7 out of 10 members of the public saying they no little or nothing about how AI is trained. 

5. Views of the impact of AI 

The survey has shown that UK adults have mixed perceptions about AI's impact on society and themselves, with 4 in 10 expecting positive impact and 3 in 10 expecting a negative impact. For example, over half of those surveyed see AI to have a positive impact on climate change monitoring and healthcare however results show that people have concerns about the negative role AI will have on job opportunity and trustworthiness of news and information shared online. 

 6. Insights from the digitally disengaged population 

Those with very low digital familiarity shared being concerned about data security and management. Compared to that in previous waves of the survey, there is a declining trust in organisations to keep their data safe. The main concerns are around the unauthorised sale of personal data, insufficient security measures and limited control over their data. Whilst those that are digitally disengaged show that they recognise the positive impact on society, they also expect that they will be less likely to benefit from it personally. 

 If you would like to discuss how current or future regulations impact what you do with AI, please contact Tom Whittaker, Brian Wong, Lucy Pegler, Martin Cook, Liz Smith or any other member in our Technology team.

This article was written by Molly Taylor.