AI adoption lags when trust is absent, says research group. So, what’s the solution?

AI adoption lags when employee trust is weak. That's the view of Trinh Tu, Managing Director of Public Affairs at market research and advisory organization Ipsos UK. Speaking at a Westminster Employment Forum conference on AI in the workplace this month, she describes it as a consistent finding in her research:

This really matters, because distrust slows down take-up, even when there are safe, beneficial use cases available. And if people don't trust the reasons why we're using AI, then they won't embrace the tool.

Our global data maps public excitement and nervousness in relation to AI, and more people are nervous than excited. But Britain and other 'Anglosphere' countries are much more nervous than others.

The reasons for this are multifaceted, but the main ones are fear of job losses and fear of misinformation, alongside other factors such as data privacy and ethical concerns. These ...