Peter Cade | Stone | Getty Images
The vast majority of Europeans support the use of artificial intelligence for police and military operations, according to a new report from Madrid’s IE University shared with CNBC.
“European Tech Insights”, which measured the attitudes of more than 3,000 people in Europe, found that 75% support the use of AI technologies such as facial recognition and biometric data by police and military for monitoring destination.
The level of support is perhaps surprising given that Europe holds some of the strictest data privacy regulations in the world. In 2018, the European Union introduced General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR — a framework that governs how organizations store and process user information.
Companies face heavy fines for breaking the rules. A company that violates GDPR laws can be fined up to 4% of their annual global revenue or 20 million euros ($21.7 million), whichever is higher.
“It’s unclear whether the public is thinking about the consequences of these things.” [AI] application,” Ikhlaq Sidhu, dean of IE University’s Faculty of Science and Technology, told CNBC.
According to the report, support for using AI in public service tasks, such as traffic optimization, is even higher, reaching 79%.
However, when it comes to sensitive issues, such as parole decisions, most Europeans (64%) oppose the use of AI.
AI manipulates elections
Despite AI’s support in public administration and security issues, people seem to be more interested in its role in the democratic process.
A report by IE University shows that the vast majority of Europeans (67%) fear AI manipulation in elections.
AI can be used as a misinformation amplifier, with some users deliberately using misinformation to undermine the opinions of others. The main concern is so-called deepfakes, synthetic images, videos or audio clips created with AI that could be used to misrepresent the views of politicians or spread other types of misinformation.
For example, innovative AI platforms, such as OpenAI’s Dall-E and Stability AI’s Midjourney, can be used to generate images with just a few lines of text prompts. CNBC has reached out to OpenAI and Stability for comment.
“AI and deep fakes are the latest examples of the trend of misinformation and loss of verification,” Sidhu told CNBC. “This trend has grown since the advent of the Internet, social networks and AI-based search algorithms.”
Indeed, according to the report, around 31% of Europeans say AI has influenced their voting decisions. It comes as the 2024 US election rapidly approaches, with incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris running against former President Donald Trump in a runoff set for November 5.
Generational divide
The IE University report also shows the AI generation divide in Europe.
Around a third (34%) of people aged 18 to 34 would trust an AI-powered app to vote for politicians on their behalf. This number drops to 29% for those aged 35 to 44 and just 9% for those aged 65 and over.
