Navigating consumer distrust around AI
AI tech isn’t going anywhere. It’s got a wide range of applications across a wide range of industries, and in a world where tech moves fast and time is at a premium, people look for any advantage they can. Day-to-day, these applications range from the mundane – sifting through emails and spreadsheets – to the potentially life-saving – like spotting cancer early.
Common consumer concerns
This increasing presence of AI doesn’t mean everyone has wholeheartedly embraced it. People understandably have reservations about how it works. What does it mean for them? How will it affect their jobs? Numerous ethical and copyright issues have already emerged, particularly in relation to image generation. The potential for misinformation through text has also caused concerns. As with anything else online, you can’t always be sure what you’re reading is actually true or know exactly where it came from.
How AI actually works
What we colloquially call “AI” is not really sentient “Artificial Intelligence”. Sci-fi authors like Isaac Asimov and William Gibson have speculated as to what that might look like, but we’re not there yet! In layperson’s terms, AI is really more of a very rapid compiler, filtering through its knowledge base to give you what it thinks you want. So if the AI tool you’re using isn’t drawing on correct information, the results run the gamut from amusing to deeply concerning.
Company responses
Many companies are being extremely coy about how they use AI. Sometimes this is because they’re still figuring it out! But it can also be because they’re being deliberately deceptive. There are detection tools out there, sure. But they’re often costly and lack user-friendly UI.
So what’s the fix?
At Proclaimer, we agree that transparency is key. AI doesn’t have to be a dirty word – but we do think companies should be upfront about whether they’re using it. Incorporating the Proclaimer widget onto your website allows you to clearly show customers whether you’re using AI tools to write your content – or whether it’s all human-created. It’s simple – but simple solutions can go a long way to addressing customer concerns.