New research from mobile network operator Talkmobile reveals that a third of Manchester residents (31%) think negatively when it comes to AI - from ChatGPT to AI videos and chatbots.
But the study has revealed a generational divide among people living in Manchester when it comes to AI and its rising prevalence in modern Britain.
Almost half of the city’s baby boomers (aged 60 to 78) think AI is having a negative effect on life (45%) while Gen Zs (aged 18 to 27) are the most positive about it, with just under half (44%) believing it brings a benefit to their lives.
Seven in ten (70%) think the frequent use of AI is becoming ‘annoying’ - a sentiment shared mostly by millennials (aged 28-43), of which three-quarters (76%) say it frustrates them.
And, two-thirds (66%) of people in the city believe it is ‘easy’ to spot when someone is using AI software like ChatGPT.
Millennials have the sharpest eye for noticing AI, with nine in ten (92%) saying they can spot the tell-tale signs - while more than half of Generation Xs (52%) think it is difficult to identify.
Nearly two in five (38%) Manchester locals have ‘never’ used AI in their lives, however, two in 10 (18%) use it on a ‘weekly’ basis, with another 14% using it daily.
Three in five (59%) boomers in Manchester have ‘never’ used AI, in contrast with over a third (36%) of millennials who have said that they have never used AI in their lives.
However, Gen Z were the generation who used it most every day, with a third (31%).
Two-thirds (67%) of Manchester locals say they would be ‘annoyed’ if they found a work colleague using AI to do their job.
In an ever-changing world of AI, Talkmobile - the winner of eight customer care awards since 2023 – promotes great value over complexity, and is committed to connecting its customers with a real person in its call centre in under 20 seconds.
Negativity towards AI is slightly lower in Manchester compared to the rest of the UK, which is at 37%, according to the survey of 2,000 adults from across the nation.
Half (50%) of UK adults aged 60 to 78 believe AI is having a negative impact on society, compared to one in 10 (14%) who think it is having a positive influence.
Sarah Boyle, Head of Operations at Talkmobile said: “There are very few aspects of our lives that are not already influenced by AI - the genie is out of the bottle, it is here to stay.
“While we at Talkmobile share in the excitement that this new tech offers the world, we know just how much our customers value that human connection.
“For us, communication means human to human contact – and that will never seem old fashioned to us.”