Majority of Britons see AI as risk to public services, Ipsos poll finds

TL;DR: A survey of 5,847 UK adults found 37% view AI as a risk to public services versus 23% who see it as an opportunity. Over half think the NHS will get worse in the coming years, and many feel digitisation has made no difference to service quality.

The Ipsos research, carried out for public services think tank Re:State and Deloitte’s annual State of the State report, paints a cautious picture of public attitudes. Half of respondents worried about job losses from automation, 51% feared reduced human contact, and 47% flagged concerns about over-reliance on technology cutting human oversight.

Age gap in attitudes

The pessimism is sharpest among older respondents. Four in ten people aged 55-75 see AI as a risk, with just 14% seeing opportunity. Even among 16-34-year-olds, risks edged ahead at 34% versus 31%.

Only a third of respondents saw positive potential, such as freeing staff time by reducing admin or helping officials handle more information. Whether those gains materialise depends on how government deploys AI. Last year’s spending review set targets to cut administrative spending by 16% by 2029-30, with over 8,500 civil servants expected to leave in the coming year.

Mixed views on digitisation

Asked about existing digital services, results were uneven. Almost a third felt digital technology had made them repeat themselves more when dealing with services. Booking appointments and receiving information scored more positively, but many reported no change at all.

Inside government

The report also drew on interviews with 118 public sector leaders. Many were enthusiastic about AI pilots, with some using personal AI accounts at work. One combined authority director said: “I pay £20 for my own ChatGPT account and I use it all the time.”

Not everyone shares that enthusiasm. One senior civil servant said: “None of the AI case studies turn out to be as good as the press release… There’s a naive techno-utopianism in Whitehall.”

Looking forward

The gap between government enthusiasm and public scepticism is wide. With civil service headcounts set to fall, the question is whether AI will genuinely improve services or simply replace the people who deliver them.