One in three college student think AI will eliminate jobs so rapidly it will set off civil unrest, according to a survey by King’s College London (KCL).
Students are amongst the heaviest users of AI, the poll discovered, with 77% using it at least a couple of times a month– compared to 46% of employees– and 27% using it daily or nearly daily.They are also amongst the most cynical about AI’s economic impact. Over half stated they were persuaded job losses would be worse than in a normal recession.The findings are the first from a significant new tracker of
mindsets to AI by the King’s Institute for Artificial Intelligence and the KCL Policy Institute.It compares findings from 4 groups– 1,000 college student and 1,000 youths aged 16 to 29 in England, Wales and Scotland, and 500 companies and 2,000 members of the public UK-wide. While 22%of the public believe AI will get rid of tasks quick enough to cause civil unrest, that proportion
increases to 34 %among university students.Despite their worries about AI’s impact on jobs, college student– particularly male trainees– appear more positive about AI than the general public.While 48%of the public would choose to avoid AI, 41%are frightened of it and only 24%think it is positive for mankind. Amongst male trainees, 52%said they believed it was a positive thing for humanity.Male university students were likewise the most confident of the groups surveyed that AI was improving their capability to think for themselves. Female college student were probably to think the opposite.The poll also flagged a few of the problems college student have actually come across with AI. Nine out of 10 said they had actually experienced problems– most commonly accurate errors(37 %)and fabricated sources(31 %)– however fewer than half stated they usually or constantly checked AI output before using it.Despite the remarkable development of AI, 78%of the trainees who took part in the study stated they would still select to go to university, though 30%would have chosen a various subject.There likewise seems a gap in how youths are being gotten ready for their working lives. While 60%said they thought universities were capable of preparing them for
an”AI-shaped task market “, just 36 %said they were in fact being prepared.The director of the KCL Policy Institute, Bobby Duffy, said:” The public, workers, young people and university students are viewing the rapid advancement of AI with more fear than excitement, with real issue for what it will do to tasks, particularly at entry levels, and, for that reason, the potential customers for our youths and the economy in general.”Bouke Klein Teeselink, a speaker
in approach, politics, and economics at KCL, struck a more favorable note.”With the right training, policies and institutional assistance, there is a clear path forward to a more enthusiastic future, with rising productivity, wider chance, higher earnings and faster clinical progress, “he stated.