Report: US adults aren’t sure if they trust the AI industry

New Morning Consult data indicates that adults in the US are split about their trust of AI companies, but more respondents were likely to support additional government regulation of the sector than less.

In a survey conducted in late April, 38% of respondents indicated they “trust artificial AI companies to do the right thing,” while 26% said they didn’t know and 36% indicated they “don’t trust” AI companies.

• According to Morning Consult’s data, Democrats (47%) are more likely to say they trust AI companies than Republicans (32%) or independents (33%).
• There’s also a generational divide, with millennials displaying the most support at 48%, and only 27% of Baby Boomers saying they trust AI companies. The ever-elusive Gen Zs are still on the fence, with 38% saying they trusted AI companies and 38% saying they didn’t.

That same survey found that respondents were slightly more decided on the topic of regulation, with 43% of adults agreeing AI should be more regulated by the government. That’s compared to just 10% who said it should be regulated less.

Trust issues: AI’s reputation problems aren’t necessarily mirrored in the broader tech industry. A separate survey from Morning Consult Research Intelligence showed that 52% of respondents trust household tech names to “do what is right.” That’s compared to just 24% who said they trust these companies “not much” or “not at all.”

The tech industry’s most trusted brand in the US among those surveyed is Amazon, Morning Consult found, with Google, Samsung, Microsoft, and YouTube rounding out the top five.

But it’s not all silver linings for tech: Overall trust in the industry is down 6 percentage points from 2022, and globally, consumers say they trust tech less than industries including retail, food and beverage, and banking. Meanwhile, consumers in the US are less likely to say they trust the tech industry than their counterparts in China, India, or Italy, which could explain why, according to the report, the most trusted brand overall in the US was…BandAid.