American public opinion on the news industry's adoption of artificial intelligence is decidedly skeptical, according to a new joint poll from Poynter and the University of Minnesota. The survey revealed that nearly half of respondents explicitly stated they did not want to receive news via AI, with one-fifth believing publishers shouldn't use the technology at all.
The survey, conducted in early March, recruited 1,128 diverse American respondents to form a representative sample. When asked about their interest in AI-powered news tools like chatbots—technology currently being explored by publishers such as Snopes and The Guardian—49% of respondents said they were "not at all interested."
A significant trust deficit exists regarding AI's role in news: 30% of respondents reported "no confidence at all" in news organizations using AI to write articles, while 32% expressed similarly strong distrust in publishers using AI to create images. Notably, over half of respondents believe publishers are already using generative AI to produce both images and articles.
University of Minnesota media expert Benjamin Toff warns, "The data suggests that if you build it, don't expect the demand to be very high." This serves as a cautionary tale for news organizations rushing to adopt AI, especially considering the potential damage to the overall credibility of the media industry.
While research shows growing acceptance of AI in everyday life, this survey reminds us that public skepticism remains widespread regarding AI's handling of important information, particularly in areas like news reporting where accuracy and trustworthiness are paramount.