Table 1.
Comparison between Applied AI (as in this study) and GenAI.
| Aspect | Applied AI (as in this study) | Generative AI (GenAI) |
|---|---|---|
| Core Function | Perception, prediction, and autonomous decision in real-world contexts | Creates new and complex outputs such as text, images, music, or code |
| Typical Examples | Facial recognition, driverless cars, brain–computer interfaces, misinformation detection | ChatGPT, Copilot, DeepSeek, Grok, Gemini |
| Learning and Data | Typically multimodal and task-specific | Trained on massive datasets to learn patterns of human expression |
| User Interaction | Often indirect (embedded in devices and platforms); outputs are felt via actions or decisions | Direct interaction via prompts; outputs are visible artifacts (text, images, code) |
| Risks | Physical harm, systemic bias, privacy, liability; rare-event risks with high consequences | Misinformation, bias, privacy, automation of creative or knowledge work |
| Primary Concerns | Safety, accountability, data privacy, bias in decision outcomes, etc. | Authenticity, transparency, accuracy, intellectual property, ethical use, etc. |
Table 2.
Variables for Clustering Analysis (H1).
| POSNEGAI | How excited or concerned would you be if artificial intelligence computer programs could do each of the following? |
| a | Know people’s thoughts and behaviors |
| b | Perform household chores |
| c | Make important life decisions for people |
| d | Diagnose medical problems |
| e | Perform repetitive workplace tasks |
| f | Handle customer service calls |
| POSNEGHE | How excited or concerned would you be about potential new techniques that could change human abilities in the following ways? |
| a | Slow the aging process to allow the average person to live decades longer |
| b | Allow some people to far more quickly and accurately process information |
| c | Prevent some people from getting serious diseases or health conditions |
| d | Allow some people greatly increased strength for lifting heavy objects |
| e | Allow some people to see shapes and patterns in crowded spaces far beyond what the typical person can see today |
| f | Allow some people to hear sounds far beyond what the typical person can hear today |
1 Source: Pew Research Center (2021)
Table 3.
The 4 Variables about General Attitudes toward Technology, Science and AI (H2).
| CNCEXC | Artificial intelligence computer programs are designed to learn tasks that humans typically do, for instance recognizing speech or pictures. Overall, would you say the increased use of artificial intelligence computer programs in daily life makes you feel… |
| 1 More excited than concerned 2 More concerned than excited 3 Equally concerned and excited | |
| ALGFAIR | Do you think it is possible or not possible for people to design artificial intelligence computer programs that can consistently make fair decisions in complex situations? |
| 1 Possible 2 Not possible 3 Not sure | |
| TECH1 | Overall, would you say technology has had a mostly positive effect on our society or a mostly negative effect on our society? |
| SC1 | Overall, would you say science has had a mostly positive effect on our society or a mostly negative effect on our society? |
| 1 Mostly positive 2 Mostly negative 3 Equal positive and negative effects |
1 Source: Pew Research Center (2021)
Table 4.
The 6 Variables about AI Technologies in Various Domains (H3).
| SMALG2 | Do you think widespread use of computer programs by social media companies to find false information on their sites has been a… |
| FACEREC2 | Do you think the widespread use of facial recognition technology by police would be a… |
| DCARS2 | Do you think widespread use of driverless passenger vehicles would be a… |
| BCHIP2 | Do you think widespread use of computer chip implants in the brain allowing people to far more quickly and accurately process information would be a… |
| GENEV2 | Do you think the widespread use of gene editing to greatly reduce a baby’s risk of developing serious diseases or health conditions over their lifetime would be a… |
| EXOV2 | Do you think widespread use of robotic exoskeletons would be a… |
| RESPONSE OPTIONS | 1 Good idea for society 2 Bad idea for society 3 Not sure |
1 Source: Pew Research Center (2021)
Table 5.
The 6 Variables about AI Technologies in Various Domains (H3).
| Cluster | Size | POSNEGAI (Mean ± SD) | POSNEGHE (Mean ± SD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Skeptics | 2951 | 4.28 ± 0.37 | 3.38 ± 0.96 |
| 2 Cautious | 4336 | 3.26 ± 0.28 | 2.56 ± 0.78 |
| 3 Optimists | 2639 | 2.18 ± 0.45 | 1.80 ± 0.70 |
1 Source: original compilation, based on data from Pew Research Center (2021).
Table 6.
ANOVA Results for General Attitudes toward Technology, Science and AI (H2).
| Variable | Cluster | M | SD | n | η2 | Tukey results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNCEXC_W99 | Skeptics | 2.65 | 0.52 | 2951 | .29 | Skeptics > Cautious > Optimists |
| Cautious | 2.21 | 0.63 | 4336 | |||
| Optimists | 1.62 | 0.66 | 2639 | |||
| ALGFAIR_W99 | Skeptics | 2.35 | 0.69 | 2928 | .14 | Skeptics > Cautious > Optimists |
| Cautious | 2.06 | 0.73 | 4309 | |||
| Optimists | 1.58 | 0.72 | 2621 | |||
| TECH1_W99 | Skeptics | 1.87 | 0.68 | 1541 | .11 | Skeptics > Cautious > Optimists |
| Cautious | 1.55 | 0.62 | 2157 | |||
| Optimists | 1.29 | 0.52 | 1289 | |||
| SC1_W99 | Skeptics | 1.57 | 0.67 | 1403 | .08 | Skeptics > Cautious > Optimists |
| Cautious | 1.29 | 0.53 | 2175 | |||
| Optimists | 1.15 | 0.43 | 1348 |
1 Source: original compilation, based on data from Pew Research Center (2021).
Table 7.
ANOVA Results for AI Technologies in Various Domains (H3).
| Variable | Cluster | M | SD | n | η2 | Tukey results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMALG2_W99 | Skeptics | 2.20 | 0.81 | 1538 | .06 | Skeptics > Cautious > Optimists |
| Cautious | 1.90 | 0.84 | 2156 | |||
| Optimists | 1.66 | 0.84 | 1288 | |||
| FACEREC2_W99 | Skeptics | 1.92 | 0.83 | 1537 | .02 | Skeptics > Cautious > Optimists |
| Cautious | 1.81 | 0.83 | 2156 | |||
| Optimists | 1.64 | 0.83 | 1287 | |||
| DCARS2_W99 | Skeptics | 2.62 | 0.62 | 1540 | .19 | Skeptics > Cautious > Optimists |
| Cautious | 2.14 | 0.81 | 2153 | |||
| Optimists | 1.64 | 0.80 | 1287 | |||
| BCHIP2_W99 | Skeptics | 2.76 | 0.48 | 1405 | .16 | Skeptics > Cautious > Optimists |
| Cautious | 2.51 | 0.63 | 2162 | |||
| Optimists | 2.03 | 0.80 | 1346 | |||
| GENEV2_W99 | Skeptics | 2.33 | 0.72 | 1403 | .13 | Skeptics > Cautious > Optimists |
| Cautious | 1.97 | 0.76 | 2170 | |||
| Optimists | 1.56 | 0.73 | 1347 | |||
| EXOV2_W99 | Skeptics | 2.28 | 0.67 | 1406 | .17 | Skeptics > Cautious > Optimists |
| Cautious | 1.83 | 0.69 | 2173 | |||
| Optimists | 1.47 | 0.66 | 1345 |