UK Data Concerns and AI Applications for Climate, 2024

Survey data collected to examine how data privacy concerns relate to engagement with data-driven digital applications with potential benefits for climate change in everyday life, including those enabled by artificial intelligence (AI). The study was designed to explore how individuals perceive data collection practices and how these perceptions shape reported use and intended use of digital services across four domains: retail, mobility, food, and home energy.
Data were collected through an online survey of 2,078 adults aged 18 and over living in the United Kingdom. Quota sampling was used to achieve national representativeness by age and gender. The survey includes measures of application usage and frequency, perceived data collection, data privacy concerns, data protection behaviours, perceived AI risks and benefits, familiarity with AI (including generative AI), and socio-demographic characteristics.
The survey also includes an embedded vignette experiment in which respondents were randomly assigned to descriptions of digital applications that varied in the salience of AI involvement and personal data collection. This design allows examination of how explicit references to AI and data use influence stated usage intentions. The data were collected to support analysis of behavioural responses to digital and AI-enabled services, particularly in relation to privacy, trust, and user decision-making in climate-relevant application domains.