Artificial Intelligence and algorithmic solutions in the social sphere: youth attitudes

Abstract

Over the past decade, the diffusion of digital innovations among the youth has been advancing at an accelerated pace. The article presents an analysis of the youth’s attitude towards the idea of using social ratings as one of the applications of artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic management in the social sphere. The empirical focus of the analysis was on representatives of student youth in three Russian cities - Moscow, Belgorod, and Kyzyl. More than half of the respondents in all regions indicated that the influence of AI technologies on people’s lives would have both positive and negative consequences. The analysis of a model situation - the possibility of widespread use of social ratings - reveals that about one-third of the respondents in all regions supported this idea. In the capital city, the majority of respondents did not support the idea of implementing algorithms for social ratings, while in other regions, the majority of those surveyed were undecided about assessing this issue. There is an increasing level of support and perceptions of fair evaluations of algorithms for social ratings as respondents move away from the capital city. Apparently, the overall digital advancement of the Moscow region is accompanied by an increase in perceptions of the ambiguous social consequences of using AI and algorithmic solutions, leading respondents to be more cautious in assessing the prospects of these technologies. The results of multivariate statistical analysis indicate that the differentiation of support/non-support for the idea of widespread use of social ratings is related to general attitudes towards new technologies, digital media consumption habits, value orientations, and specific characteristics of social demographics. The ambivalent assessment of the prospects of implementing social ratings and the perception of a significant portion of respondents towards algorithmic solutions as unjust highlight the need for balanced management decisions that prioritise human development and the humanitarian potential of society.

Keywords

• youth
• digitalisation
• artificial intelligence
• algorithmic management
• innovations
• social rating system
• digital profile