BYU study examines why people are reluctant to use artificial intelligence

PROVO — When it comes to artificial intelligence, people have many reasons for using the technology.

Whether it's optimizing work tasks, planning for a busy week or simply coming up with a dinner recipe, AI is a tool that's undoubtedly here to stay.

But what about those who are more apprehensive?

A new study from Brigham Young University found that people who are reluctant to use AI aren't necessarily that way out of fear that AI might replace their jobs or that ChatGPT will someday become sentient and take over the world.

For many, the reasons against adopting AI into their daily lives are a bit less trivial and instead rooted in issues like trusting the results, missing the human touch or feeling unsure if generative AI is ethical to use.

"When people actively choose not to use something, there's often a lot of thought or intention that goes behind it," Jacob Steffen, a professor of information systems in the Marriott School of Business, said in a statement. "And with the rapid advancement of AI, it's important to understand why some people are hesitant to adopt such technologies."

Steffen co-authored the study with fellow professor Taylor Wells and others by using two different surveys. One asked respondents to describe situations where they chose not to use generative AI and explain why.

Those responses were used to craft the second survey, where participants rated how likely they would be to use or avoid generative AI in each situation. The participants also rated their levels of concern over factors such as ethical worries and perceived risk of use.

The top four cited concerns based on the survey results were:

1. Output quality: fear that generative AI output is inaccurate or unreliable
2. Ethical implications: fear that generative AI is illegal, dishonest or immoral
3. Risk: fear that generative AI is unsafe and uses private data
4. Human connection: fear that interacting with generative AI is artificial and lacks interactional benefits

These results mirror larger studies, too, with findings from Pew Research Center released in April that said 66% of adults and 70% of AI experts are "highly concerned" about people getting inaccurate information from AI.

When it came to human connection, Pew's findings were more divided among the public and AI experts, with 57% of the public being concerned about AI leading to less human connection, as opposed to 37% of experts.

The concerns cited in the BYU study came up across situations like using generative AI for schoolwork, writing poems or making art, seeking financial or medical advice, crafting eulogies or heartfelt messages and making important life decisions.

Despite its positive uses in education, Wells said AI can sometimes be a crutch to replace actual learning.

"If you use GenAI for all your assignments, you may get your work done quickly, but you didn't learn at all," Wells said in a statement. "What's your value as a graduate if you just off-loaded all your intellectual work to a machine?"

Steffen likened generative AI to a hammer in that is is useful in the right context but sometimes not necessary or even counterproductive in others.

Still, Steffen added that he hopes this research will help people make more informed choices about when and where AI is the correct tool for the job and foster understanding between generative AI enthusiasts and hesitant nonusers.

"It is important to understand your goal behind creating something," Steffen said. "Is it to learn? Is it to get something done fast? Are you presenting something as your own work, or as a gift to someone else? These questions can help us decide when to use AI."

The full BYU AI study can be found here.