Segmentation of ethics, legal, and social issues (ELSI) related to AI in Japan, the United States, and Germany

Artificial intelligence (AI) is often accompanied by public concern. In this study, we quantitatively evaluated a source of public concern using the framework for ethics, legal, and social issues (ELSI). Concern was compared among people in Japan, the United States, and Germany using four different scenarios: (1) the use of AI to replicate the voice of a famous deceased singer, (2) the use of AI for customer service, (3) the use of AI for autonomous weapons, and (4) the use of AI for preventing criminal activities. The results show that the most striking difference was in the response to the “weapon” scenario. Respondents from Japan showed greater concern than those in the other two countries. Older respondents had more concerns, and respondents who had a deeper understanding of AI were more likely to have concerns related to the legal aspects of it. We also found that attitudes toward legal issues were the key to segmenting their attitudes toward ELSI related to AI: Positive, Less skeptical of laws, Skeptical of laws, and Negative.