Insights: Corporate researcher
attitudes toward AI

Key Findings

Contents
Introduction

3

Highlights

4

Chapter 1: The current AI landscape5

Awareness of GenAI tools

6

Perceptions of GenAI

7

AI in practice8

Chapter 2: A future lens on AI

9Perceived impact and benefits

10

Perceived drawbacks

11

Expectations

12

Chapter 3: Shaping an AI-driven future

13

Exploring corporate researchers’ concerns

14

Factors impacting trust in and comfort using GenAI tools

15

Actions for a GenAI-powered future

16

Key Findings - Insights: Corporate researcher attitudes toward AI

2

Introduction“I can’t think of anything that’s been more powerfulsince the desktop computer.”Michael Carbin, Associate Professor, MIT,and Founding Advisor, MosaicML1

Organizations around the world are already embracing
new AI-powered technologies to improve efficiency andboost innovation. According to an MIT Technology Review
Insights report, 94% of organizations were using AI
in 2022, and 14% aimed to achieve “enterprise-wide”
AI by 2025.1

What is GenAI?
GenAI, short for generative artificial
intelligence, refers to a category of artificial
intelligence systems and models that havethe ability to generate data, content, or other
outputs that are similar to those created byhumans. These AI systems are designed to
produce new and original content rather thansimply process or analyze existing data.2

Online survey

Since the launch of GenAI applications like ChatGPT
and Bard in late 2022, the picture is changing rapidly.
In order to ensure the technology has a positive impact
on corporate research, it’s important to monitor the viewsof those who could be using it.
In the research Insights 2024: Attitudes toward AI, weaimed to do this by surveying nearly 3,000 people working
in research (including leaders and corporate researchers)
and in health (clinicians) from around the world.
The research examines the attitudes towards artificial
intelligence (AI), including generative AI (GenAI), covering
its attractiveness, perceived impact, the benefits tothem and wider society, the degree of transparency to be
comfortable using tools that capitalize on the technology,
and the challenges they see with AI. It also looks at thecurrent usage, and what respondents think would help
them trust AI tools.

Insights 2024:
Attitudes toward AI
When:
What:
Who:

December 2023 to February 2024
15-minute online quantitative survey
2,999 respondents from across
123 countries
Key Findings based on
295 corporate researchers

Results: To improve representativeness ofour sample, we weighted responses
at the regional level against OECD
researcher populations.

The full report explores these themes across threechapters and covers the views of all respondents. You canread a summary of the corporate researchers’ views here.

Key Findings - Insights: Corporate researcher attitudes toward AI

3

Highlights
Corporate researchers are familiar with AI tools, andmost have already used them, many for work purposes.
Most of those who have not yet used AI expect to do
so in the coming few years.

Corporate researchers are cautious, however, in many
areas; their employers are too, with more than half having
restrictions in place.

96%

97%

Believe AI could be used for misinformation

Have heard of AI (including GenAI) – subsequentstatistics exclude the 3% not familiar with AI

85%
Concerned about the ethical implications of AI
on their area of work58%
Of those aware of AI have used it

84%

38%

Think AI may cause critical errors or mishaps

Have used it for work purposes

55%

16%

Prohibited by their employers from uploading
confidential information to public generative
AI platforms

Are very familiar with AI and have used it a lot

76%

39%

Of those who haven’t yet used AI expect to do so
within two to five years

The overall view is optimistic: corporate researchers
believe AI will bring a range of benefits that will help...

96%

Consider the lack of regulation/governancea top-three disadvantage of AI
Specific actions can help increase trust, and by taking
and communicating them, providers of AI tools canincrease users’ comfort.

Accelerate knowledge discovery

81%

95%

Expect GenAI to always be paired withhuman expertise

Increase their work efficiency

77%

93%
Provide cost savings to institutions and businesses

Expect to be informed if the tools they use dependon GenAI

Corporate researchers think AI will also…

60%

71%
Have a transformative or significant impact on theirarea of work

Say keeping inputs confidential would strongly
increase their trust in an AI tool41%
Say robust governance on data would increase
their comfort using an AI tool

Future uses of trusted AI tools among those who believe AI can benefit their work:
likelihood of using a reliable and secure AI assistant to…

generate a synthesis of research
articles in an area
(which includes references)– 98% of corporate researchers

extract and summarize scientific
data from different sources(databases, internet, unstructured text)– 96% of corporate researchers

Key Findings - Insights: Corporate researcher attitudes toward AI

review prior studies, identify gaps
in knowledge and generate a newresearch hypothesis for testing– 93% of corporate researchers

4Chapter 1:

The current GenAI landscape

Explore the awareness, perceptions and usage of AI (including GenAI)among corporate researchers.
➤

97% have heard of AI (including GenAI) – subsequentstatistics exclude the 3% not familiar with AI➤

58% of those aware of AI have used it➤

38% have used it for work purposes➤

16% are very familiar with AI and have used it a lot➤

71% believe AI (including GenAI) will havea transformative or significant impact on theirarea of work➤

42% say AI is a welcome advancement; none say
they see mostly drawbacks➤

ChatGPT is by far the most well-known AI
product (95%)➤

30% have used ChatGPT for work purposes➤

56% of those who have not used AI cite a lackof time as the reason➤

55% are prohibited by their employers fromuploading confidential information to publicgenerative AI platforms

Key Findings - Insights: Researcher Attitudes toward AI

AI has great potential to support many functions inresearch and business, and corporate researchers
and their organizations are harnessing its power. Almost
all corporate researchers have heard of AI, and over half
have experimented with it, 16% having worked with ita lot. Awareness is high and usage is substantial;
corporate researchers now need time and permission
to take their AI use to the next level.

5

Awareness of GenAI tools
Given its potential impact on productivity, AI is of greatinterest to many corporate research organizations foruse in accelerating research and development (R&D).
According to a McKinsey report, R&D is one of the fourareas likely to account for three-quarters of the added
value of GenAI, which could “deliver productivity with avalue ranging from 10 to 15 percent of overall R&D costs.”3
The impact is expected to be particularly high in thepharmaceuticals industry, where GenAI could contribute$60 bn to $110 bn a year.4
To unlock this potential, organizations and theiremployees will need to get on board. The current
survey shows that corporate researchers are awareand embracing the technology already: 97% haveat least heard of AI, and 58% have used AI tools.
Extensive usage is higher among corporate researchers(16%) than other groups, such as clinicians (8%)
and researchers more broadly (14%). The rate ishighest in APAC (19%) and North America (18%) amongcorporate researchers. This shows an upward trend:
in Elsevier’s 2022 Research Futures 2.0 report, 8%of researchers were already using AI extensively intheir research.4

Of the corporate researchers who are aware of AI, 95%
have heard of ChatGPT, making it the most well-known AI
product. This is followed by Bing Chat (58%), Bard (47%),
MS Copilot (in Word, Excel, PPT) (35%) and Gemini (31%).

Levels of familiarity with AI (including GenAI)
Corporate
Researchers(n=306)% Asia Pacific(n=87)

Not at all familiar(never heard of it)

3

3

A little familiar

32

Somewhat familiar

49

Very familiar(used it a lot)

Total familiar% North America(n=63)% South America(n=34)% Middle East
& Africa (n=8)

4

0

4

Too few responses
to break out

33

30

22

34

44

52

59

47

97%

Significantly higher or lower than total

97%

96%

100%

EU
SA

96%

-

Significantly higher than Region (indicated by first two letters e.g. AP = APAC)
Asia Pacific = AP
Europe = EU

Fig 1.

15

18

13

19

16

% Europe(n=110)

North America = NA
South America = SA

Mid. East & Africa = MEAQuestion: To what extent are you familiar with AI (including GenAI)?

Key Findings - Insights: Corporate researcher attitudes toward AI

6

Perceptions of GenAIOverall, corporate researchers have a positive to neutral view of AI and GenAI, with none seeing mostly drawbacks.
More than two-fifths (42%) see AI positively, ranging from 38% in North America to 50% in South America.
Overall feelings towards AI (including GenAI)
Corporate
Researchers(n=295)% Asia Pacific(n=83)% Europe(n=105)% North America(n=63)% South America(n=32)% Middle East
& Africa (n=8)

Positive –It’s a welcome
advancement

42

42

40

38

50

Too few responses
to break out

Mixed –
I can see both potential
and drawbacks

43

40

50

49

34

10

10

Unsure –I need to see how
this develops

Negative –I see mostly drawbacks

18

15

Significantly higher or lower than total

0

3

0

0

0

16

Significantly higher than Region (indicated by first two letters e.g. AP = APAC)
Asia Pacific = AP
Europe = EU

North America = NA
South America = SA

Mid. East & Africa = MEA

Fig 2. Question: What are your overall feelings about the impact of AI on your area of work?

Almost all (98%) corporate researchers think GenAI will have an impact on their work (the remaining 2% don’t know).
Almost one-third (28%) expect this impact to be transformative and 42% significant. The expectation of a transformative
or significant impact is highest in APAC (78%) and lowest in Europe (62%), where 32% of respondents expecta partial change.
Expected level of impact of AI in your area of work
Corporate
Researchers(n=295)% Asia Pacific(n=83)% Europe(n=105)% North America(n=63)% South America(n=32)% Middle East
& Africa (n=8)

Transformative(i.e. it will make a marked
change)

28

31

22

30

31

Too few
responses tobreak out

Significant(i.e. a notable change)

42

45

40

41

34

Some
(i.e. a partial change)

23

32

21

25

Low
(i.e. a small change)

5

5

6

5

3

None
(i.e. no change at all)

0

0

0

0

0

Don’t know/not sure

2

2

0

3

6

Sum of Transformative +Significant – excluding ‘don’t
know/not sure’ answers
Significantly higher or lower than total

17

71%

62%

EU

74%

70%

-

Significantly higher than Region (indicated by first two letters e.g. AP = APAC)
Asia Pacific = AP
Europe = EU

Fig 3.

78%

North America = NA
South America = SA

Mid. East & Africa = MEAQuestion: What do you think will be the level of impact of AI (including GenAI) in your area of work in the near future?

Key Findings - Insights: Corporate researcher attitudes toward AI

7

GenAI in practice
Usage is relatively high among corporate researchers,with 38% globally having used AI for a specific workrelated purpose and 20% for a non-work purpose. And
30% have used ChatGPT for work.
Of the corporate researchers who have not yet used
AI, 56% say it’s because they haven’t yet had time toinvestigate or experiment with it. This is higher in Europe(65%) than APAC (49%). Other reasons include not yet
having found a tool that meets their needs (24%) andhaving concerns about such tools (22%). Lack of budget topay for AI products or features (19% globally) is least likely
to be a problem in Europe (5%) and most likely in SouthAmerica (28%).

Usage of AI and context for usage
Corporate
Researchers(n=295)% Asia Pacific(n=83)% Europe(n=105)% North America(n=63)% South America(n=32)% Middle East
& Africa (n=8)

Yes –For a specificwork-related purpose

38

39

39

38

41

Too few responses
to break out

Yes –But just to test it or fora non-work purpose

20

23

30

22

No

41

47

36

32

38

Don’t know/not sure

1

0

2

0

0

Significantly higher or lower than total

14

Significantly higher than Region (indicated by first two letters e.g. AP = APAC)
Asia Pacific = AP
Europe = EU

North America = NA
South America = SA

Mid. East & Africa = MEA

Fig 4. Question: Have you used an AI (including generative AI) product or an AI feature on a product you use regularly?

For almost one-quarter (22%), restrictions – includingfrom their organization – have prevented them from using
AI tools. Over half (55%) are prohibited from uploading
confidential information into public generative AI
platforms, 29% are prohibited from using AI for certain
purposes and 21% are prohibited from using certain tools.
South America is least prohibitive, at 38%, 9% and 13%
respectively. Globally, 2% are prohibited from using AI
in any way.

This reflects a more general dilemma that businesses
face with AI. In a global EY survey of corporate CEOs,
61% shared reservations around GenAI because of “theuncertainties surrounding the formulation and executionof an AI strategy,” while 62% acknowledged the urgency ofacting on GenAI, in this case to prevent their competitorsfrom “gaining a strategic edge.”5

Key Findings - Insights: Corporate researcher attitudes toward AI

8Chapter 2:

A future lens on AI

Discover corporate researchers’ expectations, including the potential
benefits and drawbacks of AI technology.
➤

96% think AI will help accelerate knowledge discovery➤

95% think AI will help increase their work efficiency➤

93% think AI will help provide cost savings toinstitutions and businesses➤

76% of those not using AI expect to use AI in the
future AI in the next two to five years➤

39% consider the lack of regulation/governance a topthree disadvantage of AI➤

81% of corporate researchers expect GenAI to always
be paired with human expertise➤

77% expect to be informed if the tools they use dependon GenAI

Corporate researchers are positive about the potential of
AI tools, and most of those who are not yet using them
expect to do so soon. Their positive outlook reflects thebenefits they see, such as the impact AI might have on
knowledge discovery and productivity. However, corporate
researchers see some of the main disadvantages of AI
being related to the current lack of governance andaccountability, the potential for inaccuracy and the lackof privacy.

Key Findings - Insights: Corporate researcher attitudes toward AI

9Perceived impact and benefits
The largely positive outlook corporate researchers
have on AI and GenAI is affected by the benefits of thetechnology and the positive impact they expect it to haveon their work. As we noted in chapter 1, 71% of corporate
researchers believe AI will have a transformative or
significant impact on their area of work (see figure 3).

Increased productivity: Corporate researchers expect AI
to increase their work efficiency (95%), free their time
for higher value work (85%) and save costs for theirorganizations (93%). This is reflected in research by
Capgemini, in which executives predicted AI leading tooperational improvements of 7-9% within three years.6

Specifically, 96% think AI will accelerate knowledge
discovery in the next two to five years. However, they
don’t expect this to be through the technology’s impact
on collaboration – nearly one-third don’t think AI will
increase collaboration at all.

Research infrastructure: Most corporate researchers (91%)
believe AI will rapidly increase the volume of scholarly
and medical research. While 93% see benefit from AI
in publishing and monitoring the impact of their research,
fewer (80%) think AI will bring benefit for funding-related
activities.

Research: In the current study, 98% of respondents see
benefit for AI in research-related activities, and 94% inusing scientific content. Nearly all (95%) think AI would
bring benefit to completing data science activities.
This reflects previous evidence from Elsevier’s 2022
Research Futures 2.0 report, which showed the mainuse of AI in research was helping with analyzing
and processing large data sets.4

Positive impact of AI in various areas over the next two to five years% Not at all% To some extent

Corporate
Researchers(n=284)% Asia Pacific(n=82)% Europe(n=102)% North America(n=61)% South America(n=31)

Too few responses to break out

Accelerate knowledge discovery

4

96

2

98

6

94

3

97

Change the way students aretaught and study in universities
and medical schools

4

96

2

98

5

95

8

92

5

97

Increase your work efficiency

5

95

1

99

7

93

14

86

7

87

Provide cost savings toinstitutions and businesses

7

93

4

96

9

91

10

90

Rapidly increase the volume ofscholarly and medical research

9

91

11

89

7

93

10

90

Increase your work quality

13

87

5

95

19

81

27

73

Free your time for higher
value work

15

85

10

90

24

76

14

86

Increase your work consistency

21

79

14

86

24

76

36

64

Increase collaboration

30

70

15

85

51

40

60

EU
NA
SA

EU
NA

% Middle East
& Africa (n=8)

Too few responses to break out

EUNA

Significantly higher or lower than total

EU
NA 49

Significantly higher than Region (indicated by first two letters e.g. AP = APAC)
Asia Pacific = AP
Europe = EU

North America = NA
South America = SA

Mid. East & Africa = MEA

Fig 5. Question: Thinking about the impact AI will have on society and your work, to what extent do you think over the next 2 to 5 years it will…?
A great extent, some extent, not at all.

Key Findings - Insights: Corporate researcher attitudes toward AI

10Perceived drawbacks
The human element: Some concerns are connected withthe potential impact of AI on people and their behavior.
In the current study, 76% of respondents think GenAI
has the potential to erode human critical thinking skills.
Over one-third (37%) consider the inability of AI to replace
human creativity, judgment or empathy as a top-three
disadvantage.

Although corporate researchers’ views are overall positive,
they also see disadvantages of AI and GenAI, and they
have identified a number of drawbacks of the technology.
Regulation and accountability: The most common topthree disadvantage of AI that corporate researchers see is
its lack of regulation or governance (39%). Similarly, 30%
consider lack of accountability over the outputs as a topthree disadvantage.

Accuracy and transparency: More than one-quarter (27%)
of corporate researchers rank outputs being factually
incorrect and/or non-sensical (hallucinations) as a topthree disadvantage of AI. For 23%, being too dependent
on outdated data and/or information is a top-three
disadvantage. And 16% rank the logic behind an output
not being well described as a top drawback.

Privacy: Reflecting the current institutional bans oncertain AI usage, 14% of corporate researchers consider
the lack of confidentiality of GenAI inputs or prompts, and
14% of outputs, as a top-three disadvantage.

Perceived top-three disadvantages of AI (of those who have concerns)
Corporate
Researchers(n=253)% Asia Pacific(n=68)% Europe(n=93)% North America(n=56)

Does not have enough regulationor governance

39

35

43

46

Unable to replace human creativity,
judgment and/or empathy

37

Lack of accountability over the useof generative AI outputs

30

34

Outputs are factually incorrect and/or non-sensical (hallucinations)27

29

Outputs can be discriminatory
or biased

25

Too dependent on outdated data
and/or information

23

23

34

29

32
18

24

25

Lack of relevant expertise
within organisation

16

18

The logic behind an output is notwell described

16

12

Generative AI inputs/prompts are
not confidential

14

13

15

Generative AI outputs are notconfidential

14

18

11

Risks homogenizing culture via its
use of global models

14

9

19

14

Requires a lot of computer
processing power

12

9

14

9

Lack of permission to use data or
information AI tools are trained on

9

7

9

Generative AI discriminates against
non-native English speakers

6

7

5

0

Don’t know/not sure

2

4

0

0

Other

1

0

2

2

0

0

0

0

None of the above

Significantly higher or lower than total

Too few responses to break out

25

32

18

% Middle East
& Africa (n=6)

36

30

43

% South America(n=27)

11

15

20

24
11
5

13

Significantly higher than Region (indicated by first two letters e.g. AP = APAC)
Asia Pacific = AP
Europe = EU

North America = NA
South America = SA

Mid. East & Africa = MEA

Fig 6. Question: What do you think are the top three disadvantages of AI? Select up to three.

Key Findings - Insights: Corporate researcher attitudes toward AI

11

Expectations
Corporate researchers are more likely than researchers
generally to be aware of and use AI today (see full reportfor details), and they are also more likely to expect to use it
in the near future: 76% of those who have not yet tried AI
tools say they will do so in the coming two to five years.

As noted in chapter 1, some corporate researchorganizations have set rules around how employees
can use AI in their work. This is just one aspect of their
preparation for the continuing growth of AI.
This includes personnel actions. For example, more than
one-quarter (26%) of corporate researchers are awareof their employers setting up a community of practicearound AI. Fewer are aware of their organizations
appointing new operational functions (13%) or newleadership (12%) around AI.

Along with their predictions of future usage come specificexpectations of the tools they might use. Corporate
researchers’ top expectation is that GenAI will always bepaired with human expertise, with 81% globally agreeing
with this. Most expect to be informed whether the tools
they use depend on GenAI (77%) and if the peer review
recommendations they receive about their manuscript
used GenAI (76%).

There are also strategic and operational changes
happening: 21% say their institutions are building a planor protocol to evaluate the purchase of tools that include
AI and 20% are planning to acquire tools that include AI
in 2024. However, communication appears to be lacking:over one-third (36%) of corporate researchers are unsure
how their institution is preparing for AI usage

Expectations of AI% Disagree% Agree
Generative AI to always bepaired with human expertise(i.e. qualified people validate
outputs)

Corporate
Researchers(n=286)% Asia Pacific(n=79)% Europe(n=102)% North America(n=63)

11

81

11

82

10

83

11

76

9

77

8

75

10

80

10

71

To be informed if the peerreview recommendations I
receive about my manuscript
utilized generative AI, even ifalongside human oversight

12

76

13

74

12

79

10

77

To be given a choice to turnoff generative AI in the toolsthat I use

13

71

15

68

11

72

10

77

Generative AI will work wellwith non-text modalities(i.e. chemical or biologicalcompounds, chemical
reactions, graphs, plans)

12

69

12

68

11

71

16

71

Generative AI dependent
tools’ results be based onhigh quality trusted
sources only

9

67

8

65

10

69

10

60

To be informed whether
the tools I use depend on
generative AI

Significantly higher or lower than total% South America(n=30)

1080% Middle East
& Africa (n=8)
Too few responses
to break out

Too few responses
to break out

370

Significantly higher than Region (indicated by first two letters e.g. AP = APAC)
Asia Pacific = AP
Europe = EU

North America = NA
South America = SA

Mid. East & Africa = MEA

Fig 7. Question: Thinking about the use of generative AI in your area of work, how much do you agree or disagree with the following either presently
or in the near future? By near future, we mean in the next two to five years.

Key Findings - Insights: Corporate researcher attitudes toward AI

12

Chapter 3:

Shaping an AI-driven future➤

96% believe AI may be used formisinformation➤

85% have concerns about the ethical implicationsof AI on their area of work➤

84% are concerned AI may cause critical errors
or mishaps➤

60% say keeping inputs confidential would strongly
increase their trust in an AI tool➤

41% say robust governance on data would increase
their comfort using an AI tool➤

39% consider the lack of regulation/governancea top-three disadvantage of AI

Exploring corporate researchers’ concerns about using
AI and GenAI tools, alongside the factors that would
increase their trust in these tools and their comfort using
them, helps identify actions institutions and developers
can take. While most are worried about the lack ofgovernance, paying attention to this concern is the best
way to increase trust and comfort using AI. Similarly,
misinformation is a major concern, and reliability would
help increase trust and comfort.

Key Findings - Insights: Corporate researcher attitudes toward AI

13

Exploring corporate researchers’
concerns
Understanding corporate researchers’ concerns around
GenAI is an important step in developing tools withminimized risks. Only 1 in 10 have no concerns about the
ethical implications of AI on their area of work – 53% havesome concerns, 22% have significant concerns and 10%
have fundamental concerns.
Some of the biggest concerns are around misinformationand errors. Almost all (96%) believe AI will be used for
misinformation, at least to some extent over the next two
to five years. And 84% expect that AI has the potential tocause critical errors or mishaps.
Social disruption is a concern for corporate researchers,
for example with 74% expecting AI to cause theunemployment of large numbers of people.

Negative impact of AI in various areas over the next two to five years% Not at all% To some extent

Corporate
Researchers(n=282)% Asia Pacific(n=79)

4

96

Cause critical errors or mishaps(e.g. accidents)

16

84

19

81

Erode human criticalthinking skills

24

76

22

78

Cause disruption to society(e.g. unemployment for large
numbers of people)

26

74

20

80

Be used for misinformation

4% Europe(n=102)96% North America(n=61)

96

2

98

17

83

8

92

30

70

20

80

38

62

18

82

4

EU

Significantly higher or lower than total% South America(n=31)% Middle East
& Africa (n=8)

Too few responses to break out
AP

19

81

EU

Significantly higher than Region (indicated by first two letters e.g. AP = APAC)
Asia Pacific = AP
Europe = EU

North America = NA
South America = SA

Mid. East & Africa = MEA

Fig 8. Question: Thinking about the impact AI will have on society and your work, to what extent do you think over the next two to five years it will…?
Great extent, some extent, not at all.

Key Findings - Insights: Corporate researcher attitudes toward AI

14

Factors impacting trust in andcomfort using GenAI tools
When combined, the potential GenAI has for
misinformation, hallucinations, disruption to society
and impact on job security paints a picture for manyof a technology that is difficult to trust.7 Yet surveys
show that most people do trust the technology – forexample, the Capgemini Research Institute found that
63% of consumers were excited by the prospect of GenAI
bolstering drug discovery.8
The current study reveals actions that could help increase
corporate researchers’ trust in AI. Reflecting one of
their top concerns, the top factor is privacy: 60% say
the keeping the confidentiality of inputs would strongly
increase their trust in an AI tool.
Factors that strongly increase trust in AI tools% No impact% Strongly increased trust

Corporate
Researchers(n=283)% Asia Pacific(n=78)% Europe(n=103)NA

Keeping the information input
confidential (security)

12

60

15

57

9

72

Citing references by default(transparency)

9

58

12

51

4

Training the model to be factually
accurate, moral, and not harmful(safety)

9

53

12

49

Abidance by any laws governing
development and implementation(legality)

9

53

9

Only using high-quality
peer-reviewed content to train
the model (quality model input)

852

Training the model forhigh coherency outputs(quality model output)

752

Significantly higher or lower than total% North America(n=61)AP
NA% South America(n=31)

11

43

10

60

68

7

59

20

53

6

54

5

59

10

58

49

10

58

13

53

8

45

9

65

7

52

7

51

8

52

11

54

% Middle East
& Africa (n=7)
Too few
responses tobreak out

AP

AP
SA

Too few
responses tobreak out
39

13

3

53

Significantly higher than Region (indicated by first two letters e.g. AP = APAC)
Asia Pacific = AP
Europe = EU

North America = NA
South America = SA

Mid. East & Africa = MEA

Fig 9. Question: To what extent, if at all, would the following factors increase your trust in tools that utilize generative AI? Scale: Strongly increase
my trust, Slightly increase my trust, No impact on my level of trust.

Similarly, concerns around accuracy, governance andtransparency are reflected in the trust factors. Citingreferences by default would strongly increase trust for
58% of corporate researchers, as would training themodel to be factually accurate, moral and not harmful(53%), law abiding (53%) and high-quality and coherent(52%).

Key Findings - Insights: Corporate researcher attitudes toward AI

15

Quality and accuracy: More than one-third (38%) of
respondents rank knowing the information the model uses
is up to date as one of their top-three comfort factors,
and over one-quarter (27%) say an explanation of how
the solution worked would make them more comfortable.
One-third (33%) say actions being taken to prevent unfair
bias would be a top comfort in using AI.

We asked respondents which information areas would
increase their comfort is using the tool:
Governance: Accountability is a top contributor tocorporate researchers’ comfort using an AI tool: 41%
rank robust governance on data and information being
used to train the model in their top-three comfort factors,
and 32% rank accountability through human oversightas such.

Confidentiality: 38% of corporate researchers say privacy
being respected on user inputs is a top-three comfort
factor for using AI, as is privacy being respected on
outputs generated (23%).

Information areas that would increase comfort in using that tool
Corporate
Researchers(n=295)% Asia Pacific(n=83)% Europe(n=105)% North America(n=63)% South America(n=32)% Middle East
& Africa (n=8)

Robust governance on data andinformation used to train the model

41

39

46

38

47

That the information themodel uses is up-to-date

38

39

44

27

Too few
responses tobreak out

That privacy is respected
on user inputs

38

39

42

25

That actions have been taken
to prevent unfair bias

33

29

That there is accountability
through human oversight

32

33

29

That the real-world impact on
people has been considered

27

27

23

That the way the solution works
can be, and is, explained

27

20

33

That privacy is respected on
outputs generated by the model

23

20

28

Don’t know/not sure5

None of the above

2

Significantly higher or lower than total

41

0

1

41
37

19

41

25

30

2

8

28

34

38

16

19

28

0

9
10

3

Significantly higher than Region (indicated by first two letters e.g. AP = APAC)
Asia Pacific = AP
Europe = EU

North America = NA
South America = SA

Mid. East & Africa = MEA

Fig 10. Question: Which information areas about a tool’s dependency on generative AI would most increase your comfort in using that tool?
Select up to three.

Actions for a GenAI-powered future
Based on the survey findings and secondary research, we recommend actions for technology developers
and institutions. (See the full report for details.)
GenAI technology developers can:Institutions employing researchers can:➤Enhance accuracy and reliability➤

Establish policies and plans and communicate them clearly➤

Increase transparency➤

Build governance and expertise➤Strengthen safety and security➤

Provide training and capacity➤

Ensure access

Key Findings - Insights: Corporate researcher attitudes toward AI

16

References
1.

Adam Green. The great acceleration: CIO perspectives on generative AI. MIT Technology Review Insights. July 2023.
https://www.databricks.com/sites/default/files/2023-07/ebook_mit-cio-generative-ai-report.pdf

2. OpenAI. ChatGPT. April 2024.
https://chat.openai.com/chat3.

McKinsey & Company. The economic potential of generative AI: The next productivity frontier. 14 June 2023.
https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/the-economic-potential-of-generative-ai-thenext-productivity-frontier

4. Elsevier. Research Futures 2.0. April 2022. Page 64.
https://assets.ctfassets.net/zlnfaxb2lcqx/47ncumZe63BnUGl0PGkQbV/c3b2d1df821ff03c52d8fd4360dd5751/ResearchFutures-2_0-Full-Report.pdf
5.

Gregory Daco. Catalyze economic growth through capital investment in GenAI. EY Parthenon. 22 March 2024.
https://www.ey.com/en_nl/ai/economic-growth-through-capital-investment-in-gen-ai

6. Capgemini Research Institute. Harnessing the Value of Generative AI: Top Use Cases Across Industries. July 2023.
https://prod.ucwe.capgemini.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/GENERATIVE-AI_-Final-Web-1-1.pdf
7.

Portulans Institute. Network Readiness Index 2023.
https://download.networkreadinessindex.org/reports/nri_2023.pdf

8. Capgemini Research Institute. Why Consumers Love Generative AI. 7 June 2023.
https://prod.ucwe.capgemini.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/GENERATIVE-AI_Final_WEB_060723.pdf

Notes
For a detailed methodology, including sample bases by region/country,
see the appendices of the full report.

https://tinyurl.com/attitudes-ai
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Report Authors
Adrian Mulligan (a.mulligan@elsevier.com)
Nicola Mansell
Lucy Goodchild (lead author)
TellLucy.com

Key Findings - Insights:
Corporate researcher attitudes toward AI
Elsevier July 2024