By now enterprise organizations are well aware of the competitive advantage that artificial intelligence brings to the functional areas of their business. From orchestrating customer interactions to reducing process complexity to automating operations that free up employees from manual work, leveraging AI will no longer be an advantage and soon become table stakes.
AI-powered business isn’t a new concept; predictive modeling, for example, has been used for decades to predict behaviors of all kinds – from customers to financial markets to weather. We’re in the age now where powerful AI is no longer prohibitively expensive and is becoming pervasive. The average consumer, however, isn’t quite up to speed. The recent generative AI boom with tools like ChatGPT, Dalle, Midjourney, Grammarly, Writesong, etc. jolted consumers and laid bare all the use cases, possibilities, and, of course, fears swirling through the marketplace. While being fascinated by AI, consumers are also very wary of it and their concern exposes what is really at the core of most innovation skepticism: trust. Data privacy issues have plagued commerce in recent years and those concerns are not unfounded with several high-profile breaches spilling out in front of us. Plus, theories rooted more in sci-fi permeate the societal conversation.
Rightfully, trust and ethics are fundamental elements in the discourse around AI. Pega recently teamed up with research firm Savanta to survey 5,000 consumers worldwide on their views around AI, its continued evolution, and the ways in which they interact with the technology. And while many do understand the benefits, skepticism persists.
One concern that was revealed is the potential for AI to “evolve” and behave immorally. This distrust is prominent when it comes to entrusting AI with life-altering decisions, even when the odds favor a better outcome – case in point, the application of AI in healthcare and finance. When it comes to financial decisions, such as securing a bank loan, 68% of people would trust a human over an AI. And where it relates to receiving a medical diagnosis, 75% of those surveyed would trust a human doctor over an AI with a better track record of accuracy. This underscores the enduring need for human touch in personal, high-stakes situations.
And at Pega, we believe strongly in the partnerships between humans and technology. That AI has the power to bring empathy into customer relationships, and that human oversight is essential to innovation. Ultimately, even though consumers may fear rogue AI-powered bots, they want the core benefit that AI offers them: better customer experiences. After all, consumers interact daily with AI in ways they don’t even realize. Whether they are banking, filing an insurance claim, booking a trip, or even responding to the U.S. Census Bureau; they’re touched by artificial intelligence.
It's incumbent upon businesses to instill trust in their relationships. Responsible AI frameworks are beginning to emerge in both commerce and government to steer regulation that doesn’t stifle innovation. Tools like the Ethical Bias Check and the Transparency Switch in Pega Customer Decision Hub™ are giving organizations the capability to operate with fairness, transparency, and empathy baked into their AI-powered offerings.
Download the report, “Unraveling the Complexity of Human-AI Relationships: Trust, Ethics, and Customer Experiences” to find out more about how consumers are feeling about AI.