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We conducted a two-year online survey (Study 1, n = 121 in 2023; Study 2, n = 125 in 2024) using a snowball sampling approach. Our goal was to examine how engagement with Science Fiction (Sci-Fi) shapes public perceptions of real-world Artificial Intelligence (AI) developments and tools. Study respondents (in majority highly educated, college graduates) rated their Sci-Fi and AI familiarity on Likert scales and answered open-ended questions about AI definitions, generative-AI (gen-AI) Chatbot use, and AI ethics. Year-over-year results show consistently high engagement with Sci-Fi movies and series, along with a modest increase in perceived AI familiarity. We also find that gen-AI Chatbots (e.g., ChatGPT) are now widely adopted for writing, research, coding, and design tasks. The respondents appeared to anthropomorphize AI and especially, gen-AI Chatbots, by attributing human-like reasoning and cognition abilities to these technologies and prompt systems. Ethical reflections concerning AI were often linked to dystopian Sci-Fi media, such as the Black Mirror series, and we continue to observe Sci-Fi Media as a powerful vehicle for vivid thought experiments and intense, ethical deliberation. Importantly, between both studies, respondents shifted noticeably toward more critical perspectives on AI, voicing raised concerns about its potential negative impact on society. This trend suggests both a nascent, skeptical stance concerning AI’s future role in our lives and also highlights the potential for additional research on the human perception of AI impact in future studies.

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Are We Becoming More Critical of AI? Findings From a Two-Year Study of Public Perception, Use Cases, and Sci-Fi’s Role in Shaping AI Views

  • 会议论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年

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  • Apurva Patil,
  • Philipp Jordan,
  • Zainab Hassani

摘要

We conducted a two-year online survey (Study 1, n = 121 in 2023; Study 2, n = 125 in 2024) using a snowball sampling approach. Our goal was to examine how engagement with Science Fiction (Sci-Fi) shapes public perceptions of real-world Artificial Intelligence (AI) developments and tools. Study respondents (in majority highly educated, college graduates) rated their Sci-Fi and AI familiarity on Likert scales and answered open-ended questions about AI definitions, generative-AI (gen-AI) Chatbot use, and AI ethics. Year-over-year results show consistently high engagement with Sci-Fi movies and series, along with a modest increase in perceived AI familiarity. We also find that gen-AI Chatbots (e.g., ChatGPT) are now widely adopted for writing, research, coding, and design tasks. The respondents appeared to anthropomorphize AI and especially, gen-AI Chatbots, by attributing human-like reasoning and cognition abilities to these technologies and prompt systems. Ethical reflections concerning AI were often linked to dystopian Sci-Fi media, such as the Black Mirror series, and we continue to observe Sci-Fi Media as a powerful vehicle for vivid thought experiments and intense, ethical deliberation. Importantly, between both studies, respondents shifted noticeably toward more critical perspectives on AI, voicing raised concerns about its potential negative impact on society. This trend suggests both a nascent, skeptical stance concerning AI’s future role in our lives and also highlights the potential for additional research on the human perception of AI impact in future studies.