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Survey shows readers' trust in AI is booming, especially for research
Would it be an understatement to say that AI is everywhere? The technology is now seeping into every nook and cranny of digital life, including schools and tertiary education centers. One of my favorite AI tools is NotebookLM, and my colleague Shimul recently wrote about its latest update, which reaches beyond the information you feed it. This development raises the question: “How much do I trust AI tools for research?”
That’s a question we posed in a survey for this article, and after 8,300 votes, it’s clear that our readers are slowly starting to trust AI more and more.
Incredibly, more than 5,300 respondents, or 64% of the vote, trust AI to some extent but “always double-check the facts.” This is a pretty fair stance, even with tools beyond NotebookLM. Anecdotally, I’ve found AI to hallucinate far less often in my usage — no more recommending glue on pizza. That being said, it is still incredibly important for personal understanding and posterity to review the information you receive. AI certainly makes finding data far, far easier than traditional search engines, but this comes with greater responsibility.
There are still AI doubters in our community, but they're in the clear minority.
Notably, 8.9% of readers fully trust AI and don’t believe they need to critique the results of their queries. In total, this means that nearly three-quarters of respondents of this poll trust AI in some capacity.
So what about the skeptics? Well, 22.3% of voters are still doubting the veracity of AI’s mutterings, while a further 4.7% don’t use AI for research at all.
AI certainly has merit for research purposes. Dedicated research tools like Consensus that sample only from peer-reviewed data, or NotebookLM that mostly samples data you feed into it, largely minimize the risk of bogus information. I certainly wish I had these tools when I was at university, but I’m thankful that both are available to streamline future research tasks.
Importantly, AI is a tool, and like any tool, it’s important that you learn how to use it correctly and responsibly.
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