Australians Express Low Trust In AI Companies
Australia ranks among the least trusting nations on AI, according to new survey data. EY's Global AI Sentiment Study, which covered 23 countries and more than 18,000 people, placed Australia equal lowest on AI sentiment even as everyday use of the technology rises. Separately, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) reported that only 4 percent of Australians say they trust AI companies to handle their personal information, and that 87 percent are more concerned about privacy than they were five years ago. The findings come amid growing local opposition to AI data center developments and intensifying political debate over AI governance in Australia. Persistently weak public trust tends to raise regulatory scrutiny and operational friction for AI deployments in the affected market.
What happened
Australia is emerging as one of the most AI-skeptical advanced economies, according to two recent surveys. EY's Global AI Sentiment Study, covering 23 countries and more than 18,000 respondents, ranked Australia equal lowest on overall AI sentiment even as adoption of the technology grows.
The trust gap
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) reported that just 4 percent of Australians say they trust AI companies with their personal information. The same body's community attitudes research found that 87 percent of respondents are more concerned about privacy than they were five years ago, signaling that data handling has become a central public concern.
Data centers and local opposition
The survey results coincide with rising local resistance to AI infrastructure, including opposition to proposed data center developments. Public concern over water use, energy demand, and transparency has become a recurring flashpoint as operators seek sites in Australian communities.
Industry context
Weak public trust does not by itself block deployment, but it tends to raise the cost of doing business. Generic-industry experience suggests low-trust environments invite tighter regulation, slower permitting for physical infrastructure, and greater scrutiny of how personal data is collected and used. For practitioners, transparency on data governance and infrastructure impact is increasingly a precondition for social license.
Key Points
- 1EY's Global AI Sentiment Study ranked Australia equal lowest among 23 countries on AI sentiment, even as everyday use of the technology rises.
- 2The OAIC found only 4 percent of Australians trust AI companies with their personal data, with 87 percent more concerned about privacy than five years ago.
- 3Industry context: weak public trust tends to increase regulatory scrutiny and slow local permitting for AI data center infrastructure.
Scoring Rationale
Well-documented public-sentiment and governance signal in a major advanced economy, corroborated by EY's multi-country study and OAIC regulatory data. Low trust has concrete implications for AI regulation, data-center permitting, and deployment friction, but the story is survey and sentiment driven rather than a discrete market-moving event. Scored as a solid, notable policy story.
Sources
Public references used for this report.
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