Researchers from the University of Warsaw completed a report on Polish citizens’ familiarity with information related to artificial intelligence and robotics, their level of acceptance of various technological solutions as well as their opinions about AI and automation across various spheres of life.

Although Polish citizens expect their goods to be delivered by a drone or a robot, they are reluctant to accept autonomous cars. At the same time they do not need this kind of AI use to be regulated by law and some of the interviewees admit they have never encountered this issue. These are some of the conclusions the researchers from the Laboratory of Media Studies at the University of Warsaw came to on conducting a survey of artificial intelligence (AI) across various spheres of life in Poland.

“Artificial intelligence is now, for us – consumers, regulators, researchers – somewhat like a non-Newtonian fluid in a child’s hands. When we try to pat, squeeze, or work intensively with it, it momentarily seems predictable and under control, and we can even build something from it. However, as soon as we momentarily set it aside, it immediately dissipates, escapes, and loses its predictable form. This will likely remain the case for some time, until we find a way to establish an orderly and regulated coexistence of humans with this technology, which is inevitable and already happening,” explains Dr Karolina Brylska from the UW Laboratory of Media Studies.

Between 17th and 21st April 2023, a survey was conducted by a team of the Laboratory of Media Studies at the University of Warsaw using the Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI). Over five days, a team of interviewers successfully conducted interviews with 1427 respondents.

Select conclusions from the report:

• The majority of respondents (71%) declared that they had come into contact with media.
• Information about artificial intelligence (AI) within the last 12 months.
• 25% of respondents stated that they could not recall any specific media content related to artificial intelligence that they had encountered in the past year.
• Reported exposure to information about artificial intelligence in the last 12 months is associated with greater acceptance of specific technological solutions.
• Technologies that help with daily work were the most accepted by the respondents.
• The use of robots in caregiving roles faced noticeable resistance from some respondents, but supporters of this technology still predominated.
• The use of robots to perform medical procedures had a higher level of social distance, yet the majority of respondents could be considered supporters of this technology.
• The technology that generated the most controversy was autonomous cars with more opponents (44%) than supporters (28%).
• Regarding the prospects of new professions emerging as a result of the development of artificial intelligence technology, sceptical individuals (23.2%) about the potential for beneficial changes to the labour market prevail.
• In the question about the necessity of state regulation and supervision of the technology, affirmative answers prevailed (40%), but a noticeable group of respondents (20%) considered it unnecessary.
• Among the respondents, there is a general agreement with the statement that technological changes based on artificial intelligence will primarily bring benefits to large technology corporations (34%).