Women don't like AI. They have reasons
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Stock: Getty Images
AI may have a woman problem — the latest evidence comes from a newly released survey from Morgan Stanley that finds women are far more negative about the new technology than men.
Why it matters: Women don't seem to be feeling the benefits of the AI boom, particularly in the job market, and the polling reveals that they're more concerned than men with safety risks and data center buildouts.
By the numbers: Morgan Stanley polled 2,000 consumers in late September and asked for their overall perception of AI, positive or negative. It then measured net sentiment (subtracting one from the other).
- Men were considerably more positive (+30%); women were at -1%.
- The gender divide has persisted since the Wall Street bank began its surveys in April. Then, women were at +6%. Men's feelings have stayed roughly steady.
Zoom in: Among those with negative views, roughly equal shares of men and women cited reasons like AI being "used for scams" or "spreading misinformation."
- But there were some key differences: 44% of women said, "I do not want a data center built near my home," compared with 36% of the men.
- Slightly more women (57%) said they didn't like AI because "it is developing too quickly without enough safeguards." That's compared with 54% of men.
- Men were also more likely to express concern with data privacy (49% versus 39% of women).
The big picture: Recent headlines about the safety risks of AI and deepening anger over data center development are driving backlash.
State of play: Although the bank's survey found that overall sentiment for AI in the U.S. is positive, among certain groups the outlook is far less rosy.
- Older adults. Sentiment is -14% for those age 55 and older compared with about +25% for folks under 55.
- Lower-income consumers. Sentiment is +27% for those making $100,000 or more, compared with just +7% for those earning less than $50,000.
- Liberals. Net approval is at 0, compared with +31% for self-described conservatives.
Between the lines: The increase in negativity among these groups is leading to local pushback, and with midterms on tap, lawmakers are paying attention.
- In some regions, that means data center construction is on pause or at least slowed down.
- "It's another bottleneck for the broader AI buildout," Michelle Weaver, head of thematic research at Morgan Stanley, tells Axios.
- Data center sentiment drops even more if one is going up near where you live, the polling found.
Zoom out: The tech industry has long had a gender imbalance, but it seems to be on steroids at the moment.
- The bank didn't look at labor market issues, but recent data from LinkedIn shows women landing only a quarter or less of new high-paying AI jobs. For executive roles, the share is even lower.
- AI advances, meanwhile, are expected to seriously disrupt jobs in female-heavy roles in administrative, clerical and customer service work.
- The stark differences could exacerbate a long-standing gender pay gap.
"We cannot let the AI gender gap become an entrenched chasm," Bridget Griswold, CEO of LeanIn, tells Axios.
- The women's advocacy group has found that in the workplace, women are often criticized and judged for using AI, while men are praised, and says that the AI itself has been shown to exhibit bias against women.
Flashback: Women reported being more skeptical about AI in polling from Pew released earlier this year — and men used the technology more frequently.
