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Artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence
About the author
Ryan Neelam
Ryan Neelam was Director of the Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program at the Lowy Institute. He led the flagship annual Lowy Institute Poll, was project director for the Global Diplomacy Index, and wrote about climate diplomacy and multilateral policy.
With the advent of more advanced and accessible generative artificial intelligence, or AI, in the past two years, there has also been an explosion of debate about the risks, benefits, and role of AI in the world.
For the first time, the Lowy Institute Poll asked Australians how they perceive the risks versus the benefits of AI. On balance, a slightly larger number of Australians say the potential risks of AI outweigh the potential benefits (52%) compared to those who say the benefits outweigh the risks (45%).
Younger Australians are more likely to be positively disposed to AI, with 55% of 18–29 year olds saying the benefits outweigh the risks, compared to 42% of 45–59 year olds, and only 36% of those aged 60 and over.
