Skepticism high

Austrians have no interest in AI

There is hardly any need among the population to learn more about artificial intelligence.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

Austrians have relatively little knowledge about artificial intelligence - but there is considerable skepticism. This is according to the latest edition of the Digital Skills Barometer, which focused on the topic of AI this year.

The Digital Skills Barometer was developed by the fit4internet initiative with partners from business and science. The current survey was carried out together with the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, the Enterprise Training Center (ETC) and fit4internet members Cisco, Microsoft Austria and Siemens. As Martin Heimhilcher, Chairman of the Information and Consulting Division of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, explained, 2000 people were surveyed throughout Austria.

Knowledge gaps
According to the survey, the average respondent only has basic knowledge, as shown by the corresponding questions. The self-assessment - before the specific knowledge questions were asked - was in some cases significantly higher, as the CEO of Siemens Austria, Patricia Neumann, explained. A clear "knowledge gap" is noticeable here. When asked whether they saw more opportunities than risks, 25 percent answered in the affirmative, while 27 percent answered in the negative. The rest were undecided or did not want to give an assessment.

Fears and concerns
The result was similar for the item "The use of AI applications and systems makes my life easier". The assumption that they would personally benefit from the technology was even more clearly rated as not true. There were concerns about possible misuse, for example through the spread of so-called deepfakes. There are also considerable fears in some companies, for example in the area of data security. There were also fears of becoming technologically dependent on the systems, as the Managing Director of Cisco Austria, Hans Greiner, explained.

No interest in AI
Around half stated that they do not use AI. 40 percent of respondents were simply confused by the new technological possibilities. However, there seems to be little desire to learn more about it. According to the survey, only around a quarter of the population would like to develop the relevant skills in the near future. Only six percent know their way around. This also reveals a gender gap, as was emphasized. This is because 68 percent of the well-informed group were men. In terms of age, 16- to 29-year-olds are at the top of the list when it comes to AI knowledge.

A breakdown by federal state was also carried out and the results here were relatively uniform, with Vienna and Vorarlberg slightly ahead in terms of AI knowledge. If AI is used in Austria, then professionally in the form of text generators or translation tools. In the private sector, search engines and navigation programs dominate.

Alarm signal
The initiators of the Digital Barometer see the results as an alarm signal. "We need more understanding of technology among the population and decision-makers," said Microsoft Austria boss Hermann Erlach with conviction. For example, better school education and the creation of incentives for further vocational training are called for. There is also a need to highlight the opportunities, such as the fact that AI solutions could make the development of new products or administrative processes significantly more efficient.