If you trust AI recommendations generally, you trust them for most things
The Ipsos Consumer Tracker, fielded on Ipsos' Omnibus platform, asks Americans questions about culture, the economy and the forces that shape our lives. Here's one thing we learned this week.
Why we asked: We see in the Google: Our Life with AI study that there's been a flip from AI being a toy in previous waves to a tool. The data from Ipsos shows that the main uses for AI have become research and recommendations. So do folks trust those recommendations and if so, for what?
What we found: Perhaps the easiest way to read the data is that if folks trust AI recommendations, they trust them for… whatever. The relative trust is reasonably consistent across a wide range of products and services tested. There are some notable things below the surface of this, however.
Men are more likely to trust the AI in every case. Younger folks are generally more likely to trust AI for recommendations, but we’re pretty evenly skeptical of advice on both medical procedures and over-the-counter medications. And we trust AI to know electronics the most, across all age groups.
Interestingly, there’s no clear trend by party ID. That’s only interesting because it’s rare to find topics that are new enough that they haven’t become entirely sorted. There are a couple of places where Democrats are more trusting (entertainment and media, and electronics). There aren’t any where Republicans trust significantly more than Democrats. But mostly there isn’t much variation.
More insights from this wave of the Ipsos Consumer Tracker:
A positive signal on the economy: More people have money left over after bills
Higher-income Americans were twice as likely to have a bigger tax refund this year
AI data centers are unpopular with most Americans
Americans are well aware of gas prices' rise
Seven years in, few see COVID as a threat
The Ipsos Vibe Check: Here's how Americans feel about the government this week
The Ipsos Care-o-Meter: What does America know about vs. what does America care about?
