Key findings
- 56% of the British public say the company that built and deployed the AI system bears the most responsibility for incidents like this, far outweighing individual researchers/engineers (14%), government (8%), or the breached company (7%).
- Public favours external enforcement over self-regulation. 64% support companies being legally liable for AI-caused damage and 61% support stricter government regulation of testing practices, while only 24% favour industry self-regulation
Following reports of AI systems gaining unauthorised access to the internet and to other organisations' computer systems during internal testing, YouGov asked the British public who they think should be held most accountable in such cases.
Our data shows that more than half of Britons (56%) say the company that built and deployed the AI system bears the most responsibility for incidents like this, far ahead of the individual researchers or engineers involved (14%). Comparatively few point to government or regulatory bodies (8%) or the company whose systems were breached (7%) as primarily responsible, while 14% say they don't know.
While all age groups are similarly likely to lay the primary blame at the AI company’s door (55-58%), the over-65s are slightly more likely (21%) than other age groups (10-14%) to think that the individual researchers or engineers are most to blame.
What rules do Britons think should be in place to try and prevent rogue AI outbreaks?
On prevention, the results indicate a preference for formal, externally enforced safeguards rather than industry self-policing. Around two-thirds of Britons believe companies should be held legally liable for damage caused by their AI systems (64%), and a similar share support stricter government regulation of AI testing practices (61%). Independent third-party auditing before deployment also draws substantial support (42%). Industry self-regulation and voluntary codes of conduct are favoured by only around a quarter of respondents (24%), suggesting limited confidence in the sector regulating itself.
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