Women are more skeptical of artificial intelligence and its adoption in the workplace than men — but only when faced with uncertain economic outcomes from the tech, according to new Northeastern University research published in the academic journal PNAS Nexus.
Drawing on survey data from the U.S. and Canada, the study finds that women consistently perceive AI as riskier, especially when its economic effects are uncertain. The findings add to a growing literature about gender differences in tech attitudes, which carry implications for tech policy, AI adoption and the future of work, said Beatrice Magistro, an assistant professor of AI governance at Northeastern University and co-author of the research.
“We’re not arguing whether AI is good or bad, we’re simply trying to show that this is happening whether we want it or not,” Magistro told Northeastern Global News.
The researchers surveyed roughly 3,000 Canadians and Americans, identifying two key drivers behind the gender gap they uncovered: the notion that women in general are more “risk-averse” than men, Magistro said, and the level of exposure to the potential harms of AI, such as job displacement, bias or widening inequality.
Researchers first asked respondents whether they believed the risks of generative AI outweighed its benefits. They then measured risk in two ways, beginning with what Magistro described as “general risk orientation,” or the respondents’ baseline appetite for risk-taking more broadly.
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