Global study reveals trust of AI remains a critical challenge
The report reflects the tension between the obvious benefits of artificial intelligence and the perceived risks.
A global study on trust in Artificial Intelligence (AI) released today reveals more than half of people globally are unwilling to trust AI, reflecting an underlying tension between its obvious benefits and perceived risks.
The Trust, attitudes and use of Artificial Intelligence: A global study 2025 led by Professor Nicole Gillespie, Chair of Trust at Melbourne Business School at the University of Melbourne and Dr Steve Lockey, Research Fellow at Melbourne Business School, in collaboration with KPMG, is the most comprehensive global study into the public’s trust, use and attitudes towards AI.
The study surveyed over 48,000 people across 47 countries between November 2024 and January 2025.
It found that although 66% of people are already intentionally using AI with some regularity, less than half of global respondents are willing to trust it (46%).
When compared to the last study of 17 countries conducted prior to the release of ChatGPT in 2022, it reveals that people have become less trusting and more worried about AI as adoption has increased.
“The public’s trust of AI technologies and their safe and secure use is central to sustained acceptance and adoption.” says Professor Gillespie.
“Given the transformative effects of AI on society, work, education, and the economy—bringing the public voice into the conversation has never been more critical.”
AI at work
The age of working with AI is here, with three in five (58%) employees intentionally using AI – and a third (31%) using it weekly or daily.
This high use is delivering a range of benefits with most employees reporting increased efficiency, access to information and innovation.
Almost half (48%) report AI has increased revenue-generating activity.
However, the use of AI at work is also creating complex risks for organisations. Almost half of employees admit to using AI in ways that contravene company policies, including uploading sensitive company information into free public AI tools like ChatGPT.
Many rely on AI output without evaluating accuracy (66%) and are making mistakes in their work due to AI (56%).
What makes these risks challenging to manage is over half (57%) of employees say they hide their use of AI and present AI-generated work as their own.
This complacent use could be due to governance of responsible AI trailing behind. Only 47% of employees say they have received AI training and only 40% say their workplace has a policy or guidance on generative AI use.
It may also reflect a sense of pressure, with half concerned about being left behind if they do not use AI.
“The findings reveal that employees use of AI at work is delivering performance benefits but also opening up risk from complacent and non-transparent use," Professor Gillespie said.
AI in society
Four in five people report personally experiencing or observing benefits of AI, including reduced time spent on mundane tasks, enhanced personalisation, reduced costs and improved accessibility.
However, four in five are also concerned about risks, and two in five report experiencing negative impacts of AI. These range from a loss of human interaction and cybersecurity risks through to the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation, inaccurate outcomes, and deskilling. 64% of people are concerned that elections are manipulated by AI-powered bots and AI-generated content.
70% believe AI regulation is required, yet only 43% believe existing laws and regulation are adequate.
There is a clear public demand for international law and regulation and for industry to partner with government to mitigate these risks. 87% of respondents also want stronger laws to combat AI-generated misinformation and expect media and social media companies to implement stronger fact-checking processes.
“The research reveals a tension where people are experiencing benefits from AI adoption at work and in society, but also a range of negative impacts. This is fuelling a public mandate for stronger regulation and governance of AI, and a growing need for reassurance that AI systems are being used in a safe, secure and responsible way.” Professor Gillespie said.
KPMG International’s Global Head of AI David Rowlands said the report highlighted opportunities for organisations to lead the way in providing greater governance and taking a proactive approach to building trust with employees and customers.
“It is without doubt the greatest technology innovation of a generation and crucial that AI is grounded in trust given the fast pace at which it continues to advance. Organisations have a clear role to play when it comes to ensuring the AI revolution happens responsibly, vital to ensuring a future where AI is both trustworthy and trusted.”
Rowlands added “People want assurance over the AI systems they use which means AI’s potential can only be fully realised if people trust the systems making decisions or assisting in them – work our organisation is wedded to with our Trusted AI approach, to make trust not only tangible but measurable for clients.”
Emerging economies lead the way
People in emerging economies report higher adoption of AI both at work and for personal purposes, are more trusting and accepting of AI, and feel more optimistic and excited about its use, compared to advanced economies.
They also self-report higher levels of AI literacy (64% vs 46%) and training (50% vs 32%) and importantly, more benefits from AI (82% vs. 65%), compared to people in advanced economies.
In emerging countries three in five people trust AI systems, while in advanced countries only two in five trust them.
“The higher adoption and trust of AI in emerging economies is likely due to the greater relative benefits and opportunities AI affords people in these countries and the increasingly important role these technologies play in economic development,” Professor Gillespie said
Read the full report Trust, attitudes and use of Artificial Intelligence: A global study 2025.
To learn more about the research being conducted at Melbourne Business School, visit our Faculty and Research page.
