A global study on trust in Artificial Intelligence (AI) reveals more than half of people globally are unwilling to trust AI, reflecting an underlying tension between its obvious benefits and perceived risks.
Key findings:
- The intelligent age has arrived – 66% of people use AI regularly, and 83% believe the use of AI will result in a wide range of benefits
- Yet, trust, which is central to AI acceptance, remains a critical challenge. Only 46% of people globally are willing to trust AI systems which correlates with low levels of AI literacy – only two in five (39%) report some form of AI training and only 40% say their workplace has a policy or guidance on generative AI use.
- Data suggests that just under half of organisations may be using AI without adequate support and governance.
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 a previous study 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.
Individuals and organizations are more likely to trust AI systems when they understand how AI works, yet the study finds that only two in five (39%) report some form of AI training. In line with these low levels of AI training, almost half (48%) report limited knowledge about AI, indicating that they do not feel they understand AI nor when or how it is used.
“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 and in education
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 of those surveyed report that AI has increased revenue-generating activity.
However, only 60% of organizations provide responsible AI training and only 34% report an organizational policy or guidance on the use of generative AI tools.
Raymond Campbell, Country Leader for KPMG in Caricom says: “The use of AI at work is creating complex risks for organizations, and a ‘governance gap’ is emerging. The study reveals 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.
“Complacent use could be due to governance of responsible AI trailing behind. In advanced economies, just over half of employees (55%) report that their organization has mechanisms in place to support AI adoption and responsible use, including a strategy and culture conducive to responsible AI adoption, adequate employee training, and governance processes.
“According to the study, many users rely on AI output without evaluating accuracy (66%) and are making mistakes in their work due to AI (56%), and 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 lack of AI governance is also seen in educational institutions, only half of which have policies, resources and training for responsible AI use in place.
AI in society
73% of people report personally experiencing or observing benefits of AI, including reduced time spent on mundane tasks, enhanced personalization, 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.
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 governments 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.
In the Caribbean, we are seeing the emergence of AI across many industries and in everyday life. Regional governments are grappling with policy development to safeguard data privacy, mitigate against the perceived risks of AI, whilst also exploring the vast opportunities the technology unlocks for human capital and economic development.
Chris Brome, Head of Advisory for KPMG in Caricom says: “AI is surely the greatest technological innovation of our generation. Given its rapid advancement, it is imperative that AI systems are established on a foundation of a good governance which will help to drive trust.
“Users want assurance regarding the AI systems they interact with. Therefore, the complete potential of AI can only be realized if the public has confidence in the systems making decisions or assisting in them. For this reason, KPMG developed the Trusted AI approach to make the concept of trust both tangible and quantifiable for our clients.”
