Building public trust is essential to achieving an all-electric and connected society
Scott Steedman, Director-General, Standards
| BSI
Public trust in emerging technologies like AI and quantum computing lags behind their potential. Building this trust requires international quality infrastructure and standards, addressing public concerns around issues like AI inaccuracies and data privacy, and greater public engagement.
Innovation is everywhere. New technologies appear daily. We are accelerating towards an all-electric and connected society, where we are told that data and digital technologies will unlock a better future for everyone. Yet research shows that there is a void of public trust between the technological promise and the real world. Building trust is essential to unlocking the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing or the all-electric and connected home.
One way to build confidence is to engage consumers in defining what good looks like, alongside industry experts and regulators. Under the umbrella of market regulation sits the infrastructure that governs the market’s smooth operation, ranging from intellectual property and metrology (measurement) to consensus standards, accreditation, testing and market surveillance. This system is known as the quality infrastructure. It acts as a governance framework for the market, translating national policy into practice. Unlike regulation, which operates at the national level, market governance systems have evolved to become international by default, offering the potential for global alignment of expectations of business performance.
Each country appoints a national standards body to ensure all voices are included in shaping consensus standards. In the UK, BSI recently commissioned research on public attitudes toward technology across four countries, finding that the all-electric, connected society is something that three-quarters of people want to see. But the research also identified a confidence gap linked to low levels of trust in emerging technologies. Bridging that gap requires dedicated policy action.
BSI’s Innovating for our Future white paper, published to mark our hosting of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) annual meetings in Edinburgh in October, found growing public confidence in AI’s capabilities, with over half (51 per cent) of people across the four countries saying AI could perform some aspects of their job, up from 38 per cent in 2023. Similarly, 53 per cent globally felt that AI could do the menial parts of their job, up from 16 per cent. Despite this rising confidence, there are significant gaps in trust, which could be bridged through market mechanisms. 62 per cent thought there should be a standardised system for flagging issues or inaccuracies with AI tools, and 57 per cent have privacy concerns when interacting with AI-driven technologies.
Beyond AI, there are other, potentially even more powerful digital technologies. Quantum computing will reshape our lives in the same transformational way that the deployment of the internet once did. The UK government launched a national quantum strategy in March 2023, which has already generated impressive results for the UK, including centres of excellence in research and development, but also close collaboration in the national quality infrastructure between BSI, NPL (National Metrology Institute) and UKAS (the national accreditation service) and international leadership in standards development.
However, public trust in quantum remains low, particularly in the UK. Unlike evidence of increasing confidence in AI, the public is much less familiar with quantum computing or supercomputing. Across the four countries, only 40 per cent felt that governments and experts were communicating enough about the risks and opportunities of supercomputing, compared to 21 per cent for the UK alone. Similarly, 38 per cent said the opportunities of supercomputers and quantum outweigh the risks, compared to 24 per cent in the UK alone.
These data points suggest there is a big task in the UK particularly, but also globally to ensure that public confidence keeps pace with these emerging technologies. Otherwise, there is a high risk of public rejection. Nations with low levels of trust could fall behind in realising the benefits for society of digital technologies, even if they deliver world-leading science and research.
Part of the solution is to rapidly push for the development of common, consensus-based international standards. The two major platforms for international collaboration on standards were both founded in London, the IEC in 1906 and the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) in 1946. BSI is the national member of the IEC and ISO and provides the infrastructure for UK-based experts to feed the national perspective into the international work at the IEC and ISO levels.
International standards offer a structured way to manage emerging technologies, ensuring they benefit society and support sustainable growth. Quantum computing is an area where standards will enable rapid global take-up by setting a common framework that enables collaboration across borders. Lord Vallance, Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, underscored the urgency of acting quickly when he opened BSI’s public conference on quantum technologies during IEC week. He stressed that standards are essential to maintaining the pace of innovation while ensuring safety, interoperability and trust in the deployment of new products and services.
Beyond last month’s BSI conferences, we aim to spark a national conversation on technology’s role as a force for good. By building trust through consensus standards and safeguards, we can deliver an all-electric, connected society that benefits everyone.
There has never been a more important time for government to promote its national quality infrastructure and, through the international collaboration we facilitate, build trust in the new and emerging technologies that will accelerate the growth of new industries, new jobs, a fair society and a sustainable world.
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