Scientists are conducting a poll to learn more about the public’s thoughts on artificial intelligence (AI) and software in general. They intend to gain insight into the public’s concerns and expectations regarding AI’s potential impact on society.
Will the advent of AI spell the end of humankind? Lero (the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software) and University College Cork are conducting a survey to learn more about common perceptions and understandings of artificial intelligence (AI) and software.
Dr. Sarah Robinson, a psychologist and senior postdoctoral researcher at Lero, is conducting an anonymous online survey with members of the public to learn more about their expectations and concerns regarding artificial intelligence and software. The survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete.
While the professionals argue amongst themselves, the general public’s opinion is largely disregarded. The programming of racist and sexist biases into robots is an obvious worry, but some AI researchers are worried that others are putting more emphasis on hypothetical end-of-the-world situations. The public is a vital participant in defining what it means to be responsible for software because of the widespread impact it has. That’s why we’re conducting this survey,” the UCC-based researcher continued.
According to Dr. Robinson, human rights violations are being committed with the help of artificial intelligence and facial recognition programs.
“Data used to train some AI is polluted with racist and misogynist terminology, according to research by my Lero colleague Dr. Abeba Birhane and others. As AI becomes more commonplace, it is possible that vulnerable populations could suffer and be increasingly marginalized as a result of the usage of biased data.
While much has been written about artificial intelligence (AI) and the world it is creating (particularly in the form of ChatGPT), little is known about how the general population views the software that permeates our daily lives, from social media platforms to streaming services and beyond. We want to know, “What does the public think? What are the public’s concerns, what are the public’s priorities when it comes to making software responsible and ethical, and what are the public’s thoughts and ideas for making this a reality?” laid out Dr. Robinson.
In order to get a better sense of the participants’ priorities, the survey will probe their thoughts and feelings on a wide variety of themes and issues. Lero needs the public’s help by having them take a quick survey for 10 minutes.