Artificial intelligence is rapidly embedding itself into Canadian life, whether through active use of tools such as ChatGPT or Claude, or passive exposure to AI-generated information in search, apps, customer service platforms, and media. But while use grows, the same can not be said about comfort levels regarding the overall impact of this technology.
New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds Canadians are more likely to view AI with skepticism than enthusiasm. This unease persists even as Canadians report more frequent personal use of AI than they did late last year. The proportion saying they use the technology several times a day has risen from 10 to 16 per cent since November of last year.
Meanwhile, majorities say AI is more likely to create inequality (56%) than equality (7%) in society, and most (68%) reject the idea that everyone has the same opportunity to benefit from it.
Higher-income and university-educated Canadians are much more likely to say they are actively using AI by prompting tools directly. Those with lower incomes and less formal education are more likely to describe their exposure as passive, through tools or information appearing in apps and programs without their asking, or to say that they aren’t even sure if they’re using AI.
As the technology becomes more embedded in workplaces, schools, services, and everyday information-seeking, this raises a key question: whether the technology will broaden access to opportunity, or further advantage those already best positioned to use it, as many Canadians appear to feel it will.
More Key Findings:
- Familiarity with AI does not necessarily ease concern. Majorities across all AI Assessment groups say they know at least a little about AI and where it is being used, suggesting skepticism is not driven simply by unfamiliarity.
- The top perceived upsides are the ability to learn or research things quickly (43%) and making information easier to access (37%).
- The leading worries are that people will rely less on critical thinking or problem-solving skills (41%) and that it will become difficult to know whether content is real or AI-generated (36%).
