A recent survey conducted by King's College London (KCL) has revealed that one in three university students in Great Britain believe artificial intelligence will eliminate jobs so rapidly that it will trigger civil unrest. The poll, part of a new tracker of attitudes towards AI by the King's Institute for Artificial Intelligence and the KCL Policy Institute, highlights significant concerns among students, who are among the heaviest users of AI technology.
Key Findings from the Survey
The survey compared responses from four groups: 1,000 university students, 1,000 young people aged 16 to 29 in England, Wales, and Scotland, 500 employers, and 2,000 members of the public across the UK. While 22% of the general public believe AI will eliminate jobs fast enough to cause civil unrest, this figure rises to 34% among university students. More than half of students also said they were convinced job losses would be worse than in a normal recession.
Usage and Perceptions of AI
The poll found that 77% of students use AI at least a few times a month, compared with 46% of workers, and 27% use it daily or almost daily. Despite their fears about AI's economic impact, university students—particularly male students—appear more positive about AI than the general public. While 48% of the public would prefer to avoid AI, 41% are scared of it, and only 24% think it is positive for humanity. Among male students, 52% said they believed it was a positive thing for humanity.
Gender Differences in Attitudes
Male university students were the most confident of the groups polled that AI was improving their ability to think for themselves. In contrast, female university students were most likely to think the opposite. The survey also flagged difficulties students have encountered with AI: 90% reported problems, most commonly factual errors (37%) and made-up sources (31%). However, fewer than half said they usually or always checked AI output before using it.
Impact on Education and Career Choices
Despite the dramatic growth of AI, 78% of students surveyed said they would still choose to go to university, though 30% would have chosen a different subject. There appears to be a gap in how young people are being prepared for their working lives: while 60% believe universities are capable of readying them for an "AI-shaped job market," only 36% said they were actually being prepared.
Expert Commentary
Bobby Duffy, director of the KCL Policy Institute, commented: "The public, workers, young people and university students are watching the rapid development of AI with more fear than excitement, with real concern for what it will do to jobs, particularly at entry levels, and, therefore, the prospects for our young people and the economy in general." Bouke Klein Teeselink, a lecturer in philosophy, politics, and economics at KCL, struck a more positive note: "With the right training, policies and institutional support, there is a clear path forward to a more hopeful future, with rising productivity, broader opportunity, higher incomes and faster scientific progress."
