Most NZers distrust AI, fear job losses despite usage

AI adoption rises in New Zealand, but trust and job security fears persist. Photo / Getty Images

A One NZ survey shows most New Zealanders don’t trust AI and fear job losses from it.

NZers fear AI job losses and distrust it. The majority of New Zealanders fear artificial intelligence will take their jobs, but that hasn’t stopped them from using it.

A survey of 1000 people conducted by market research firm Perceptive and commissioned by One NZ shows conflicting attitudes towards AI: 65% fear job losses, 62% worry about the use of AI leading to unfair decision-making, 67% of people were concerned about the misuse of personal data, and 47% did not trust large companies to use AI ethically.

None of this has prevented people from adopting AI, with 77% of respondents saying they had knowingly used AI services over the past year.

However, there are generational differences with 90% of 18 to 34-year-olds having interacted with AI compared to 60% of people aged 55 years and older.

One NZ CEO Jason Paris suspected the number of New Zealanders who actually used AI services was much higher.

“I reckon 100% of Kiwis are using AI, 77% of them knowingly,” he said.

“Because if you think about Google maps, or Spotify, or Netflix, Instagram, or even just email, they have they’ve all got AI algorithms embedded in them.”

The One NZ survey findings are consistent with other studies, including a University of Melbourne and KPMG study which found only 34% of New Zealanders trusted AI, one of the lowest scores globally.

A global poll by Ipsos, which did not include NZ, found a global average of 65% of people thought it was likely artificial intelligence would lead to job losses, with 66% of Australians thinking so.

Read more on BusinessDesk here.