Millions of Americans make decisions guided by artificial intelligence (AI) every day, and many don’t even realize it. From GPS routes to get from point A to point B, suggested television shows and movies on Netflix, all the way to prioritized profiles on dating apps, consumers are regularly shown recommendations prompted by AI-driven apps. But are people satisfied with those recommendations?
Innovative Technology Solutions (ITS) surveyed 2,000 Americans to find out.
The study evaluated consumer satisfaction and trust of seven types of AI-driven apps: GPS, television and movie streaming, music streaming, restaurant and bar apps, job search apps, dating apps, and news feed applications. When asked to give each of the seven categories a rating of one to 10 for satisfaction, respondents gave GPS the highest satisfaction score of 8.1, with news applications receiving the lowest satisfaction score of 5.2
The study also identified what people generally trust more: the recommendations of AI-driven apps, or the recommendations of a flesh-and-blood friend. Overwhelmingly, in six of the seven categories, respondents said they trusted their friends over artificial intelligence. The biggest difference in trust came with dating apps. Some 65-percent of people said they would trust a friend’s recommendation over AI, while only 13-percent favored the AI recommendation, and 22-percent viewed them equally.
The only category in which people responded that they would trust AI-informed recommendations is when it comes to GPS routes: 46% said they trust AI’s recommendation more, 20% said they’d trust a friend’s more, and 34% said they trust both equally.
But creators of these services often argue that machine learning is also to help broaden users horizons based on previously expressed interests. ITS asked its 2,000 respondents how much they think AI-driven suggestions introduce them to new things, and overwhelmingly, people said they did.
Roughly 9-in-10 people (92%) said music streaming services AI-recommendations either broaden their horizons either “a lot” or “a little.” Similarly, 94% of people using television and movie streaming services say the in-app recommendations show them worthwhile new programs either “a lot” or a little.” However, when it comes to newsfeed recommendations, 25% of people said they did not think the suggested content broaden their horizons, and only 50% said it did “a little.”
Looking towards the future, Americans seem slightly less comfortable with the use of artificial intelligence in aspects of society outside entertainment and directions. Respondents gave the lowest trust scores to the potential use of AI in presidential and other public elections, as well as in judicial decision making, and self-driving vehicles.
