The Imminent Burst: King’s researchers reveal the public’s growing AI scepticism

A team of researchers in the King’s College London Digital Humanities department has found that almost half of the UK’s adult population is limiting its AI use.

Professor Kate Delvin and her team used Deltapoll to survey 2,055 UK adults on their views of AI. Most strikingly, they found that experience with AI does not equate to comfort.

Between 2023 and 2026, the percentage of people who see more risks than benefits when it comes to AI has risen by 4%, crossing the 50% mark. In both years, the majority of people felt ‘nervous’, more than anything else, about AI.

Typically, younger people adapt to new technology more readily than older people. However, the survey revealed that, “even for the youngest cohort, Gen Z, a majority are worried about risk. They are also the age group who are most likely to limit their AI use.”

Millennials were the cohort found to show the least discomfort with AI.

“We just don’t know what’s real or not anymore.”

Free-text comments from the survey

Of the different socio-economic backgrounds included in the survey, people from higher income backgrounds were the most likely to embrace AI use.

The biggest concern for the respondents was the growing omnipresence of AI over time and security concerns.

“I don’t think we can get away without using it now and that makes me really worried and sad. So although I use it every day I really wish it wasn’t a thing.”

Free-text comments from the survey

70% of people believed it would be difficult or impossible for them to avoid being exposed to AI.

Security concerns are not unfounded, as it is highly recommended that users of Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT do not input any personal or private information into the LLM.

Furthermore, the study revealed that people commonly reject AI use because it doesn’t work in the way they would like it to, or they do not have the skills required to use optimal prompts – instead of as a direct political act.

This means resistance and familiarity with AI can concurrently increase, as emphasised by the survey response.

The findings of the survey shine a light on UK adults’ opinions on AI, and highlight the increasing need for AI rollouts to be more inclusive and community-oriented.