Australians Do Not Trust News Content Written by Artificial Intelligence: Poll

Artificial intelligence is part of the travel trend of 2024. (Dreamstime/TNS)

Australians do not trust news fully written by artificial intelligence (AI) and believe that media should disclose when they are using the technology.

For the first time, a government commissioned survey into the media looked into Australians use and understanding of generative AI.

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts engaged 4,892 Australian adults and 884 children for the Television and Media Survey in 2023.

The survey found 78 percent of Australians distrust articles written by AI and 95 percent believe news outlets should disclose when they are using AI.

The report noted there is a high distrust of generative AI written news due to concerns about the integrity of the sources.

“Seventy-eight percent net said trust in a news article would be negatively impacted if the article was written in full by generative AI,” the Television and Media Survey 2023 stated (pdf).

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“The vast majority of respondents agree that people should be made aware of how much of the news content they consume online is created by generative AI (95 percent net agree).”

Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland said the survey provided valuable insight into how Australians are consuming media and what concerns they want to see addressed.

“Importantly, the survey also sheds light on Australian attitudes and expectations surrounding the use of generative AI to produce news content and provides insight into the consumption patterns of children for the very first time,” Ms. Rowland said.

“By undertaking this research, the government is ensuring its approach to media reform is grounded in evidence of how everyday Australians are engaging with media services and content in the digital age.”

A summary of the findings notes that 24 percent of Australians who used AI utilised it to draft written work or text responses.

For example, using the technology to write a submission for a competition entry.

Another 18 percent used AI to perform research for work or study, while 10 percent were experimenting with the technology, 9 percent created images or artwork, and 7 percent asked questions.

Online News Access Increasing

Meanwhile, the survey found Australians are increasingly consuming news via online sources, with the trend rising each year.

In 2023, 84 percent of Australians surveyed accessed news via online sources, up from 83 percent in 2022 and 77 percent in 2021 (pdf).

Television news consumption is still high, but has declined to 76 percent in 2023, down from 78 percent in 2022 and 81 percent in 2021.

Further, the survey found 60 percent of Australians consumed audio news, down from 62 percent in 2022 but up from 50 percent in 2021.

Commercial free to air television is most commonly used to access news content, with the breakup being state or territory content at 30 percent, national content at 28 percent, local content at 26 percent, and international content at 20 percent.

The survey also found just over half of the respondents believe online streaming subscription services contain enough Australian content.

Online news sources are now the most commonly used, at 84 percent. This is especially true of younger Australians, with 93 percent of those aged 18.

The survey found online subscription services are continuing to dominate, but there were high levels of cancellation in 2023 due their rising costs.