Artificial intelligence: more than a third of French people think it will one day lead humanity

How do the French view artificial intelligence (AI), which threatens to disrupt both the professional and private spheres in the coming years? While states are trying to organize themselves to control abuses, some citizens are showing alarmism, according to an Ifop survey for the LearnThings training site. Carried out between the end of December and the beginning of January, this study, published this Thursday, shows that 35% of French people expect AI to one day end up governing humanity.

Conversely, 65% consider that machines or artificial intelligence, “even very sophisticated”, will always remain under control. If women (36%) share this observation more than men (33%), the gap widens depending on the generation. When 26% of 18-29 year olds hold this opinion, this rate rises to 37% among 30-39 year olds and 42% among 50-59 year olds. Other significant data: 64% of French people think that AI will one day be capable of acting like humans. A threshold that has doubled over the past fifty years. In 1972, this indicator was only 32%, according to a Sofres study for Cevipof.

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A large majority of respondents may anticipate this possibility, but they fear it just as much, if not more. Thus, 87% of French people do not want these new technologies to behave like humans. Of the remaining 13% in favor of all-powerful AI, a gap emerges between men (18%) and women (8%). The same between the wealthy categories (13%) and the poorest (29%). Despite these dissensions, a small consensus appears: AI worries 51% of French people, leaves 35% indifferent, and excites 14%. Precision: the apprehension rate increases according to age groups. Being only 31% among those aged 18-29, it reaches 59% among those aged 60 and over.

As for the consequences of AI on work, only 13% of respondents think they are working in a profession of the future today. A drop of 24 points in 50 years. 65% see their job as a stable profession, 22% see it as a sector in decline. A sign of a generational gap, the rate rises to 29% for people aged between 50 and 59. However, AI has not yet invaded workspaces: 78% of employees have never used it in their professional life. A large majority of employees believe that artificial intelligence will never be capable of carrying out their tasks; those who are of a contrary opinion predict it on average from 2035.