Survey finds 55% of UK consumers would place higher trust in a company whose AI they perceived as ethical and 52% said they would be more likely to purchase more products from the company.

According to Capgemini‘s latest study, Why addressing ethical questions in AI will benefit organisations, which surveyed over 4,400 consumers across six countries, by contrast 40% said they would complain over misuse of AI, 31% would spread the word about a company’s unfair practices on social media and 25% would even file a case against the company.

“Many organisations find themselves at a crossroads in their use of AI. Consumers, employees and citizens are increasingly open to interacting with the technology but are mindful of potential ethical implications,” said Anne-Laure Thieullent, AI and Analytics Group Offer Leader at Capgemini.

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The survey also suggested that companies using AI in an ethical way will be rewarded; 62% said they would place higher trust in a company whose AI interactions they perceived as ethical; 61% said they would share positive experiences with friends and family, 59% said that they would have higher loyalty to the company, and 55% said that they would purchase more products and provide high ratings and positive feedback on social media.

By contrast, when consumers’ AI interactions result in ethical issues, it threatens both reputation and the bottom line: 41% said they would complain in case an AI interaction resulted in ethical issues, 36% would demand an explanation and 34% would stop interacting with the company.

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“This research shows that organisations must create ethical practices for the use of AI if they are to win people’s trust. This is not just a compliance issue, but one that can create a significant benefit in terms of loyalty, endorsement and engagement,” added Thieullent. “To achieve this, organisations need to focus on putting the right governance structures in place, they must not only define a code of conduct based on their own values, but also implement it concretely as an ‘ethics-by-design’ approach, and, above all, focus on informing and empowering people in how they interact with AI solutions.”