A new Angus Reid survey shows that the majority of Canadians asked are “deeply skeptical” of the long-term impacts of the use of Artificial Intelligence.

The survey shows that Canadians are more likely to view AI with skepticism than enthusiasm and the unease persists even as Canadians report more frequent personal use of AI technology than they did last year.

The proportion of respondents who say they use the technology several times a day has risen from 10 to 16 per cent since November.

A majority (56 per cent) of survey participants say that AI is more likely to create inequality in society and most (68 per cent) reject the idea that everyone has the same opportunity to benefit from it.

Those in the higher-income range and those with university education are more likely to say they are actively using AI prompting tools, while those with lower incomes and less formal education are more likely to describe their exposure to AI as passive through tools and information in apps and programs without their asking.

Among the key findings of the latest survey is that familiarity with AI does not necessarily ease concern, with 41 per cent of people expressing worry that relying on AI will affect critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Thirty-six per cent say that it is becoming more difficult to tell the difference between real content and that which is AI-generated.