I Don’t Know, Is AI Also Used in Airbags? - An Empirical Study of Folk Concepts and People’s Expectations of Current and Future Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

In 1991, researchers at the center for the Learning Sciences of Carnegie Mellon University were confronted with the confusing question of “where is AI?” from users, who were interacting with artificial intelligence (AI) but did not realize it. After three decades of research, we are still facing the same issue with the unclear understanding of AI among people. The lack of mutual understanding and expectations among AI users and designers and the ineffective interactions with AI that result raises the question of “how AI is generally perceived today?” To address this gap, we conducted 50 semi-structured interviews on perception and expectations of AI. Our results revealed that for most, AI is a dazzling concept that ranges from a simple automated device up to a full controlling agent and a self-learning superpower. We explain how these folk concepts shape users’ expectations when interacting with AI and envisioning its current and future state.