People who give higher amounts to charity are more likely to be in favour of the use of artificial intelligence by voluntary organisations, new figures indicate.
Researchers asked more than 6,100 people in 10 countries about whether they thought the opportunities presented by AI for charities outweighed the risks, or vice versa.
The figures show that overall a net 15 per cent of respondents were positive about charities using AI, when the proportion that said the opportunities outweigh the risks was compared with those that said the risks were greater than the opportunities.
But the researchers also found that while only a net 5 per cent of people who did not give to charity were happy with the idea of voluntary organisations using AI, this gradually rose to plus 30 per cent among high donors.
Among the about 1,000 people polled in the UK, there was a net positive 5 per cent score on charities using AI, the second-lowest across all the 10 countries except Australia, which recorded a negative 4 per cent score.
The US also recorded a net 5 per cent positive score.
People in Kenya were the most positive, with a net 44 per cent score.
Asked what aspects of AI they were most excited about for charities, the most popular answers were “faster response to disasters” and “help more people”.
The top concerns that emerged were charities reducing their workforce and the risk of a data breach.
The report says: “The challenge for charities is that AI is a tricky subject to grasp before there are real examples to see.
“Discussions showed that people don’t really know how AI works, so charities need to consider bringing it to life for their audiences.
“Fundamentally, the public wants to know that the charity is not losing sight of its most important part, the connection between the charity and the cause it supports.”
Neil Heslop, chief executive of the Charities Aid Foundation, said: “AI must not be the privilege of the few.
“We must work together with the technology industry to ensure it is accessible for large and small charities. Digital advances have great potential to support charities to further their missions and accelerate social progress.
“As a starting point, AI could decrease the time spent on administrative tasks, improve operations and help to target relief more effectively.
“Charities need to also remain alert to the risks, keep close to the cause and communicate clearly with donors to further social impact.”