QCOSTARICA — Despite being a global trend, Ticos (Costa Ricans) seem not to be very interested in learning more about the scope and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), according to the ‘Encuesta de Actualidades’ (Current News Survey) carried out by the School of Statistics of the University of Costa (UCR).
Of the total number of respondents, only 15.7% claimed to have read or heard ‘a lot’ about AI, with people between 18 and 34 years old standing out among the most interested.
It also stands out that 71.3% said that Artificial Intelligence is applied in smartphone calculators, as well as 41% stated that vehicle airbags have this technology.
Despite this, some did indicate that AI is present in virtual assistants (90.8%), social networks (87.6%), navigation applications (86%), and entertainment platforms (77.7%).
Among other indicators revealed by the study, the conception of Artificial Intelligence appears as more harmful than beneficial, indicated by 58.8% of those surveyed, with the most frequent fears being the loss of privacy, being replaced at work by tools of this type, as well as the lack of regulation.
In that sense, about half of the population admitted to feeling distrustful about the effects that AI can generate on human qualities, such as limiting interaction between people, affecting people’s creativity or impeding the growth of critical thinking.
The survey was carried out last October, using a sample of 630 people of age, through random calls to their cell phones and with at least a year of living in Costa Rica, from all over the territory.
Likewise, the same representativeness parameters implemented in the National Household Survey of the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC) were used. It has a margin of error of +1.9%.