Men overestimate their AI knowledge, study finds

A new survey of over 5,400 Americans reveals that men are more confident than women about their knowledge of artificial intelligence, with 73 percent of men claiming to know OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, compared to 40 percent of women. However, the study highlights that many of these men are mistaken, as figures like Mira Murati, Susan Milner, and Craig Dalton are either fictional or non-existent. Harvard Kennedy School’s Laura Manley notes that men are more optimistic and confident in AI, sometimes to the point of overconfidence. The study also found that men use AI more frequently and answer factual questions correctly more often than women, though both genders make similar numbers of errors. The research further shows that men are more frequently mentioned in AI-related media coverage, with men appearing 14 times more often than women in headlines. When focusing on quoted experts, three-quarters were men, despite women making up about 29 percent of the AI workforce. Manley emphasizes the need for more women to be featured as experts and to express uncertainty, as the current discourse is dominated by confidence in either AI’s doom or abundance, leaving out voices that acknowledge uncertainty.