A recent study reveals that most people prefer artificial intelligence (AI) over humans when it comes to making decisions about redistributing financial resources. However, despite this preference for AI, participants generally felt more satisfied with decisions made by humans, regardless of whether the outcome was fair.
The study, published in *Public Choice* on June 20, found that 64% of participants favored AI-driven decisions for tasks related to financial distribution. Interestingly, even when AI decisions deviated from personal interests, participants accepted them if the AI adhered to fairness principles. On the other hand, when AI decisions were perceived as unfair, the reaction was notably negative.
Despite the overall preference for AI decision-making, participants expressed greater happiness with human-made decisions, regardless of fairness or correctness. This paradox highlights the complexity of how people perceive decision-making by AI and humans.
Participants viewed AI as less biased, more transparent, and more accountable, leading them to trust AI for objective decisions. The study suggests that people believe AI, trained on vast amounts of fairness data, better represents fairness than human decision-makers.
As society increasingly relies on AI for decision-making, these findings emphasize the importance of understanding public attitudes towards AI, especially in morally and ethically charged situations.
