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The public trusts scientists with AI — more than it does anyone else

Source: Nature Published: AI Reprinted 中文 AI
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Nature, Published online: 10 November 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03578-y Public confidence in scientists’ use of generative artificial intelligence remains high, but that trust comes with conditions.

Original text(via Nature)
An over-the-shoulder shot of a medical researcher examining CT brain scans displayed on multiple computer screens.
An over-the-shoulder shot of a medical researcher examining CT brain scans displayed on multiple computer screens.

Almost half of survey respondents across nine countries thought that scientists’ use of generative artificial intelligence would make society better. Credit: gorodenkoff/iStock via Getty

Scientists are perceived as the group of people most likely to have a positive impact on society through their use of generative artificial intelligence, finds a survey published by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism in Oxford, UK, on 29 October1.

The survey, of nearly 19,000 people across nine countries, found that 46% of respondents think that AI use by scientists will make society better.

People who use AI tools on a daily or weekly basis were also overwhelmingly found to trust more strongly in the positive impact of the technology across all sectors than were those who seldom or never use it.

AI scientists are changing research — institutions, funders and publishers must respond

In 2024 and 2025, the team surveyed six countries, selected to provide cross-national variety among high- and upper-middle-income countries with broadly comparable levels of digital-media use. They were Japan, Argentina, France, Denmark, the United States and the United Kingdom. In 2026, Australia, Finland and Norway were added. Information was collected from about 2,000 people from each country.

Among the questions survey participants were asked was how much better or worse they thought each of ten groups’ use of generative AI would make their life or society. These groups included the government, politicians and political parties and ordinary people.

Scientists ranked top in terms of public trust, closely followed by health-care professionals. By contrast, politicians and political parties were perceived as having the worst impact through their AI use (see ‘With great power’).

Horizontal stacked percentage bar chart comparing perceptions of generative AI use by different groups. Scientists and healthcare professionals are seen as having the most positive societal impact, while politicians and news media are seen as having the most negative impact.
Horizontal stacked percentage bar chart comparing perceptions of generative AI use by different groups. Scientists and healthcare professionals are seen as having the most positive societal impact, while politicians and news media are seen as having the most negative impact.

The results did not surprise Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, co-author of the report and a communication researcher at the University of Copenhagen: scientists and health-care professionals performed well in the team’s 2025 survey, too2. As part of that investigation, respondents were asked whether generative AI would improve or worsen their experience of interacting with various sectors. Then, scientists ranked second of 12, behind only search-engine companies.

This year, the team explored why certain groups were and were not trusted by assessing different sectors’ perceived ability, benevolence and integrity in their use of AI. “Much of the public believe that scientists are able to use generative AI well, are relatively benevolent in their use of it and have relatively high integrity,” says Nielsen.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-03578-y

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References

  • Simon, F., Nielsen, R. K. & Fletcher, R. Generative AI and News Report 2026 (Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, 2026). Google Scholar

Simon, F., Nielsen, R. K. & Fletcher, R. Generative AI and News Report 2026 (Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, 2026).

Google Scholar

  • Simon, F., Nielsen, R. K. & Fletcher, R. Generative AI and News Report 2025 (Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, 2025). Google Scholar

Simon, F., Nielsen, R. K. & Fletcher, R. Generative AI and News Report 2025 (Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, 2025).

Google Scholar

  • Bretter, C., Todorova, B., Curtis, C. & Hornsey, M. J. Res. Policy 55, 105632 (2026).Article Google Scholar

Bretter, C., Todorova, B., Curtis, C. & Hornsey, M. J. Res. Policy 55, 105632 (2026).

Article Google Scholar

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