Consumers concerned by emerging sciences

10:52 17th July 2008

The more information consumers are given about emerging sciences like nanotechnology the more concerned they become about them, new research has revealed.

A study by researchers at North Carolina State University looked at attitudes towards artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, finding that educating people made them more "worried and cautious" about their potential impact.

Before taking part in the research participants were "somewhat certain" that the technological benefits outweighed the risks; however this proportion dropped to 66 per cent after they were given more information.

Dr Michael Cobb, assistant professor of political science, observed that the panellists "became more worried and cautious about the prospective benefits" of the technologies after discussions.

Artificial Intelligence is currently being used in voice recognition technology and vision processing software.

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