Public preferences for governing AI technology: Comparative evidence

Citizens’ attitudes concerning aspects of AI such as transparency, privacy, and discrimination have received considerable attention. However, it is an open question to what extent economic consequences affect preferences for public policies governing AI. When does the public demand imposing restrictions on – or even prohibiting – emerging AI technologies? Do average citizens’ preferences depend causally on normative and economic concerns or only on one of these causes? If both, how might economic risks and opportunities interact with assessments based on normative factors? And to what extent does the balance between the two kinds of concerns vary by context? I answer these questions using a comparative conjoint survey experiment conducted in Germany, the United Kingdom, India, Chile, and China. The data analysis suggests strong effects regarding AI systems’ economic and normative attributes. Moreover, I find considerable cross-country variation in normative preferences regarding the prohibition of AI systems vis-a-vis economic concerns.