Study: Only 46% of people globally willing to trust AI systems..48% report AI increased revenue-generating activity 

26 / 05 / 2025

• Knowledge Bank
• news

A new study uncovered that only 46% of people globally are willing to trust AI systems, however 48% reported AI increased revenue-generating activity at a global level.

The Trust, attitudes and use of Artificial Intelligence: A global study 2025 report, led by the University of Melbourne in collaboration with KPMG, surveyed over 48,000 people across 47 countries (including China) between November 2024 and January 2025.

It found that although 66% of people are already using AI with some regularity, more than half of global respondents (58%) view it as untrustworthy.

When compared to the last study of 17 countries conducted prior to the release of ChatGPT in 2022, it reveals that people have become less trusting and more worried about AI as adoption has increased.

AI at work

The survey said three in five (58%) employees use AI – and a third (31%) uses it weekly or daily. It is worth noting that China stands out with the much higher result with 93% of Chinese employees using AI for their work and half (50%) using it weekly or daily.

However, the use of AI at work is also creating complex risks for organizations. Almost half of employees at a global scale admit to using AI in ways that contravene company policies, including uploading sensitive company information into free public AI tools like ChatGPT.

Many rely on AI output without evaluating accuracy (66%) and are making mistakes in their work due to AI (56%).

What makes these risks challenging to manage is over half (57%) of employees say they hide their use of AI and present AI-generated work as their own.

This complacent use could be due to governance policies for responsible AI trailing behind. Only 47% of employees say they have received AI training and only 40% say their workplace has a policy or guidelines on generative AI use. In contrast, China is more advanced than many other countries in AI training and literacy with 64% of Chinese respondents declaring having received AI education and 69% saying their organization has a policy on generative AI use.

It may also reflect a sense of pressure, with half of respondents globally being concerned about being left behind if they do not use AI.

AI in society

Four in five people globally report personally experiencing or observing benefits of AI, including reduced time spent on mundane tasks, enhanced personalization, reduced costs, and improved accessibility.

However, four in five respondents are also concerned about risks, and two in five report experiencing negative impacts of AI. These range from a loss of human interaction and cybersecurity risks to the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation, inaccurate outcomes, and deskilling. 64% of people are concerned that elections are manipulated by AI-powered bots and AI-generated content.

In contrast, Chinese people’s perception of benefits outweighing the risks; they are more optimistic (91%) than worried (44%).

70% of global respondents believe AI regulation is required, yet only 43% believe existing laws and regulation are adequate at a global level.

There is a clear public demand for international law and regulation and for the industry to partner with governments to mitigate these risks. 87% of respondents globally (86% in China) also want stronger laws to combat AI-generated misinformation and expect media and social media companies to implement stronger fact-checking processes.

lva Lee, Head of Governance, Risk & Compliance Services, Hong Kong, KPMG China, said: “As we navigate the complexities of AI, it becomes increasingly important to foster a culture of oversight, ensuring that the benefits of this technology are realized without compromising safety or ethics. With 63% of respondents calling for it in China, the need for national and international AI regulation is undeniably supported. The development of trustworthy AI systems will be crucial in building public confidence and unlocking the full potential of this cutting-edge technology.”