The survey also revealed a sharp break along gender lines, with 61% of men saying AI would improve lives, compared with just 39% of women.
Every other Russian thinks that AI will be most widely implemented in the IT industry, while 35% of those surveyed believe that the technology will be in demand in security. Fewer respondents said AI would prove handy in medicine (27%), education (17%), services (9%), in creative jobs and transportation (7% apiece).
A total of 17% of Russians said they expected AI to bring about tangible changes within 15 years, while 14% expect them within a decade and one in eight anticipate changes in just 5 years. Around 6% expect AI-driven changes in 25 to 40 years from now, while another 14% of Russians think that no changes should be expected at all.
When asked why they do not believe that the introduction of AI could bring positive changes to their lives, 35% of the respondents cited technical glitches and errors resulting from the technology. Thirty-one percent of those sampled said they did not understand how AI works. About 20% said they were concerned about AI's lack of morals, ethics and feelings, while 14% said AI could be instrumental in committing crimes, and 5% said they believed the development of AI would lead to human degradation.
The poll was conducted among over 11,000 Russian adults. No information about the margin of error was given.