Latest research uncovers how much adults really understand AI — and how they want to relate to it

BOULDER, Colo., Oct. 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — New research from Barna Group, a leading research company focused on the intersection of faith and culture, and Gloo, the leading technology platform dedicated to connecting the faith ecosystem and releasing its collective might, explored two key topics: public understanding of artificial intelligence and our emotional connection to it. 

The first release, focused on the general understanding of AI, revealed that among U.S. adults, there is a general lack of understanding of what constitutes AI and how people are already using it in their everyday lives.

“As AI becomes a more common component in the rhythms of daily life, many Americans don’t even realize they’re engaging with it,” said David Kinnaman, CEO of Barna. “From personalized movie recommendations to predictive text that finishes our thoughts, AI is becoming a companion in the background of everyday tasks. As this technology is increasingly utilized, educating people — especially within faith communities — about its presence and impact will be essential for navigating a future shaped by AI.”

Key Findings About AI Education

• Two in five U.S. adults say they regularly use technology like smart home devices (45%), in-device assistants like Siri (42%) and facial recognition (40%) — all of which utilize AI — yet far more claim to not use AI in their daily lives (57%).
• Explaining AI can change sentiments to be more favorable; after education, people felt AI to be:
  • Less concerning, scary, disconnecting for people, destructive
  • More exciting, trustworthy, constructive, encouraging, and necessary.

In the second release, Barna explored the emotional connection between users and generative AI tools. The research revealed that most U.S. adults make an effort to be polite when interacting with AI tools like Alexa and Siri or chatbots like ChatGPT. This might be linked to a belief that respectful interactions with AI can lead to more positive experiences, mirroring the social dynamics they apply in human interactions.

Key Findings On Empathy Toward AI

Among those who use generative AI at least monthly:

• Three in four Millennials and Gen X try to be polite when asking a question or giving a prompt, along with 65 percent of Boomers.
• Two in five Millennials say “thank you” when AI answers questions.
• One in three people feel they are doing something wrong if using an unkind tone of voice.
• Among U.S. adults who use digital assistants, one in five feels these tools may be capable of having emotions.
• Millennials tend to show the highest levels of respect and dignity, while Boomers find that less important.

These trends point to a deeper, more complex reality: Whether consciously or not, people are inclined to humanize AI.

“As AI models evolve, there’s an opportunity to shape them in a way that mirrors how we pass down values to our children — instilling the values, morals, and mannerisms we hold dear,” said Steele Billings, head of Gloo AI. “Of course, AI is not human and can’t be ‘discipled’ like a person, but these models are still in early development and are in ‘training.’  Although there’s little research on the impact of being polite to AI,  it’s important to recognize that every interaction helps guide how these systems develop and respond.”

Gloo and Barna are partnering to better understand sentiments around faith and AI and will continue to release new research findings each month.  Gloo continues to serve the faith ecosystem through new product releases and events, like the AI & the Church Hackathon where over 200 faith-aligned developers gathered to build solutions to serve the “big C” Church.  Mission-aligned developers interested in advancing AI with Gloo are encouraged to visit ai.gloo.us and apply.

Gloo is the trusted tech platform that releases the collective might of the faith ecosystem. Gloo connects ministry leaders to resources, people, insights, and funding so their people and communities flourish and their organizations thrive. Gloo does this with the highest standards of trust and scalable economic models. Gloo serves over 75,000 churches and more than 1,000 resource partners. 

Barna Group is a leading research organization focused on the intersection of faith and culture. Since 1984, Barna has conducted more than two million interviews over the course of thousands of studies and has become a go-to source for insights about religion, leadership, vocation and generations. Barna is an independent, privately-held, nonpartisan organization based in Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas.

About this survey

This was a survey of 1,067 U.S. adults, conducted from May 21–31, 2024. The margin of error for the sample is +/- 3.0 percent at the 95 percent confidence level. For this survey, researchers used an online panel for data collection and observed a quota random sampling methodology. Quotas were set to obtain a minimum readable sample by a variety of demographic factors, and samples were weighted by region, ethnicity, education, age and gender to reflect natural presence in the American population.

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SOURCE Gloo