Awareness and experience

The question on personal experience was not included for autonomous weapons, driverless cars, robotic care assistants and simulation technologies for advancing climate change research, where direct experience would be unlikely for most respondents. 

Overall, awareness of and experience with AI technologies varies substantially according to the specific use. 

Awareness of AI technologies is mixed. For 10 of the 17 technologies we asked about, over 50% of the British public say they have heard of them before. Awareness is highest for the use of facial recognition for unlocking mobile phones, with 93% having heard of this before. People are also largely aware of driverless cars (92%) and robotic vacuum cleaners (89%).

People are least aware of the use of AI for assessing eligibility for welfare benefits, with just 19% having heard of this before. People are also less aware of robotic care assistants (32%), using AI to detect risk of cancer from a scan (34%), and using AI to assess eligibility for jobs or risks relating to loan repayments (both 35%). It is important to note that people’s awareness of technologies for assessing risk and eligibility is relatively low. Some of these technologies are already being used in public services, and these results show that people may be largely unaware of the technologies that help make decisions which directly impact their lives. 

Awareness of AI technologies differs somewhat according to age, with people aged 75 and over less likely to indicate they have heard of the use of facial recognition for unlocking mobile phones (69% reported being aware, compared to 95% of under 75s), border control (61% reported being aware, compared to 72% of under 75s), or for consumer social media adverts (68% reported being aware, compared to 89% of under 75s).

Our findings about people’s awareness of AI technologies align with those from other studies, which highlight gaps in awareness of AI that are less visible in day-to-day life or the media.

For example, a Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) 2022 mixed-methods study found that the public have high levels of awareness of more visible uses of AI, such as recommendation systems, and futuristic associations of AI based on media images such as robotics. In contrast, the same study found low levels of awareness of AI in technologies that are part of wider societal systems’, such as the prioritisation of social housing.

People report mixed levels of personal experience with AI technologies.

Over 50% of the public report personal experience with four of the 13 technologies we asked about. People report most experience with targeted online adverts for consumer products (with 81% reporting some or a lot of experience), smart speakers (with 64% reporting some or a lot of experience), and facial recognition for unlocking mobile phones and at border control (with 62% and 59% respectively reporting some or a lot of experience).

People report least experience with AI for determining risk of cancer from a scan (8%), for calculating welfare eligibility (11%) and with facial recognition for police surveillance (12%).

Experience with some of the technologies differs according to age. People aged 75 and over report less experience with facial recognition to unlock mobile phones (23% report having some or a lot of experience compared to 67% of under 75s), facial recognition at border control (32% report having some or a lot of experience compared to 62% of under 75s), and social media advertisements for consumer products (51% vs 84%) and political parties (18% report having some or a lot of experience compared to 52% of under 75s).