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Europeans overwhelmingly support the use of artificial intelligence in police and military operations, according to a new report shared with CNBC by IE University of Madrid.
“European Technology Insights” surveyed the attitudes of more than 3,000 people in Europe and found that 75% of people support the police and military using artificial intelligence technologies such as facial recognition and biometric data for surveillance.
The level of support may be surprising, as Europe has some of the strictest data privacy regulations in the world. In 2018, the EU launched General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — A structure that governs how an organization stores and processes user information.
Companies that violate the regulations face hefty fines. Companies that violate GDPR laws can be fined up to 4% of their global annual revenue, or €20 million ($21.7 million), whichever is greater.
“It’s not clear that the public has thought about the consequences of these (artificial intelligence) applications,” Ikhlaq Sidhu, dean of IE University’s Faculty of Science and Technology, told CNBC.
The report shows that the level of support for using artificial intelligence in public service tasks such as traffic optimization is even higher, reaching 79%.
However, a majority of Europeans (64%) oppose the use of artificial intelligence when it comes to sensitive issues such as parole decisions.
Artificial intelligence manipulates elections
Although AI is gaining traction in public administration and security matters, people appear to be more concerned about its role in democratic processes.
The IE University report found that an overwhelming majority of Europeans (67%) are concerned about artificial intelligence rigging in elections.
Artificial intelligence can be used as an amplifier of misinformation, with some users deliberately trying to use disinformation to subvert the views of others. A key concern is that so-called deepfakes, synthetic images, video or audio clips created using artificial intelligence could be used to skew politicians’ views or spread other types of misinformation.
For example, generative artificial intelligence platforms, such as OpenAI’s Dall-E and Stability AI’s Midjourney, can build images with just a few lines of text prompts. CNBC has reached out to OpenAI and Stability for comment.
“Artificial intelligence and deepfakes are the latest example of a trend toward misinformation and loss of verifiability,” Sidhu told CNBC. “This trend has been growing since the advent of the internet, social media, and AI-driven search algorithms.”
In fact, some 31% of Europeans believe that artificial intelligence has influenced their voting decisions, according to the report. The 2024 US election is approaching, with current Vice President Kamala Harris running against former President Donald Trump in the vote scheduled for November 5.
generational divide
The IE University report also found an AI generation gap in Europe.
About a third (34%) of people aged 18 to 34 would trust an AI-powered app to vote for politicians on their behalf. For those aged 35 to 44, that number dropped to 29%, and for those 65 and older, it was just 9%.
