AI is considered more of an economic risk than an opportunity, according to a new poll of the UK public by the Tony Blair Institute, with public perception of the technology undermined by a lack of trust.

Highlighting a distinct gap between the UK Government’s AI ambitions and public opinion, the TBI’s latest report, What the UK Thinks About AI, found that almost one in four (39%) of the more than 3,700 UK adults surveyed see AI as an economic threat, almost double the number that consider it a source of growth that will boost UK business (20%).

Unsurprisingly, how AI is perceived depends on how familiar and comfortable people are with the technology.

For example, the TBI report found that 56% of people who haven’t used genAI in the past year see it as a risk to society, more than double the 26% of regular users who feel the same, while those using AI at least once a week are far more likely (20%) to view AI as an opportunity.

This trend extends to both age and circumstances, with the study noting that while 41% of those aged 65 to 74 primarily think of AI as a risk, the same is true of just 20% of 25-34 year olds and 24% of those aged 16 to 24.

Likewise, white-collar professionals working in tech and professional services tend to view AI more favourably than those in health care, while university graduates are on average 5% more likely to feel positive about AI’s societal effects.

Ultimately, these splits mean that while a quarter of UK adults are using AI every week, nearly half have never used it all, with the study claiming that for swathes of the public, AI still feels ‘unfamiliar, unsettling or out of reach’.

The TBI found that a lack of trust is the biggest barrier to those avoiding AI, cited by 38% of the public, with fears around the impact of AI hallucinations and LLMs’ ability to produce true, factually accurate outputs.

According to the data, those who don’t trust AI content are 13% less likely to see it as a societal opportunity, and even among weekly AI users, trust in AI-generated content remains a major concern.

Other barriers highlighted in the report are concerns around privacy and data security (32%), the ethics of using AI (28%), uncertainty about how to use AI tools (25%), all issues which the TBI points out have technical underpinnings.

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With the UK Government keen to position the country as an ‘AI Superpower’, with the technology embedded in almost every aspect of public services, these problems could undermine public confidence, stall adoption, and ultimately jeopardise the long-term success of national AI strategies.

To reinforce and build public confidence in AI, the TBI said that the Government should focus on clear communications that centre on positive, real-world use cases; that it should assess AI with human-centric benchmarks to identify and improve harmful models; and that it should invest more in digital upskilling and public engagement to create opportunities for those not yet using the technology.

“In January 2025, PM Keir Starmer announced the AI Opportunities Action Plan, setting out a bold vision to make the UK a global AI leader. But there is a clear gap between the government’s narrative and public attitudes,” said Jakob Mökander, director for science and technology policy at the Tony Blair Institute.

“Without broad public support, the government will struggle to deliver on the AI opportunities action plan and its wider growth agenda. 

“In short, the government has a role to play not only in ensuring AI systems are ethical, legal, and safe, but also in fostering healthy public attitudes to AI.”