Alas, more fears and less confidence: this is how Italians’ views have changed
According to the SWG survey carried out in collaboration with the Lottomatica Foundation and presented to the Chamber of Deputies at the event ‘Facts, not things. Telling the story of the economy’, 49 per cent of those surveyed regard AI as a positive development, compared with 68 per cent in 2020. Over the same period, the proportion of those who view it as a cause for concern rose from 23 per cent to 45 per cent.
Key points
In 2020, two out of three Italians viewed the development of artificial intelligence as a positive thing. Six years later, that figure has fallen to less than half. According to the SWG survey carried out in collaboration with Fondazione Lottomatica and presented to the Chamber of Deputies at the event ‘Facts, not things. Telling the story of the economy’, 49 per cent of those surveyed (around 800 people) regard AI as a positive development, compared with 68 per cent in 2020. Over the same period, the proportion of those who view it as a cause for concern has risen from 23 per cent to 45 per cent. The gap between the two camps has thus narrowed from 45 to 4 points.
More concern among centre-left voters
This decline forms part of a broader assessment of the relationship with technology. In the latest survey, out of 1,540 respondents, 48 per cent believed that Italians were prepared to deal with the consequences of technological development. This figure is close to the 47 per cent recorded in 2019 and higher than the 40 per cent recorded in 2023. The figure varies according to political affiliation: 51 per cent of centre-right voters believe the country is prepared, compared with 39 per cent of centre-left voters.
People to ‘keep an eye on’
Even when it comes to AI, positive views are almost entirely qualified: only 4 per cent believe it should be ‘definitely encouraged’, whilst 45 per cent consider it positive but something that needs to be kept ‘under control’. The main fear is a loss of control. For 80 per cent of those surveyed, a system that accesses networks, data or tools without authorisation is either already a real risk (40 per cent) or a plausible risk in the near future (40 per cent).
These figures are reflected in the news. The survey question echoes the US debate between Donald Trump, who is opposed to slowing down AI development so as not to give China an advantage, and Bernie Sanders, who favours temporarily halting the most advanced developments. 46 per cent want development to continue with stricter controls, 21 per cent would accept a slowdown even at the cost of falling behind China, and 15 per cent would suspend the most advanced systems.
Europe is being called upon to prioritise public safety (23 per cent) or an independent industrial path (22 per cent). Independent scientific bodies should decide whether to halt a system that is too risky (30 per cent); 6 per cent would leave the decision to companies.
