Good opinion on science and technology in the FECYT survey, but no clear trends on AI and climate

2025/06/25 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Giza zientziak

The Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) has just presented the results of the survey on the opinion of society on these issues. This biennial survey has been carried out since 2002, so that the evolution of opinion can be analyzed. The questionnaire, which he has now presented, was carried out last year and has included two very topical aspects: artificial intelligence and climate change.

In general, the interest in scientific-technological issues has increased in society, although not significantly. Men tend to be more interested than women, except in the medical and health fields. On the other hand, there has been a decline in interest in the environment and ecology, especially among women. The younger you are and the higher your level of education, the more interested you are.

In any case, if you compare the interest of the public with the level of information they perceive, you can see that they do not seem to receive enough information. However, they have great confidence in scientists, and two out of three believe that they work for the benefit of all. However, they do not believe society is included in their research.

When asked about new technologies, they are in favour of the precautionary principle, and just over half of them believe that they can achieve results based on who pays the scientists. A similar percentage (51.4%) indicates that the scientific method is the only reliable way to obtain knowledge.

It should be noted that people who do not trust science believe that scientific information is fraudulent, superficial or inflamed (about 10-20%).

Discussions among scientists are seen as contributing to good results, and the percentage of people who explain the scientific method well has increased. Thus, 78.6% confirm that the results obtained by the scientific method must be tested and confirmed over time.

Two out of three believe that the benefits of science and technology outweigh the harms, but the opinion varies from area to area: they are considered to be very beneficial in combating diseases and pests, but not in preserving the environment, creating new jobs and improving personal freedom. Above all, they believe that harm takes advantage of its benefits by narrowing the gap between rich and poor countries.

They believe that investments need to be increased, but it has fallen when it comes to basic science.

Sources of information

They indicate that they have carried out activities related to science and technology: talk about these topics with those around them, consume television or radio programs, read books or scientific magazines, or go to a museum. However, there has been a decrease in the percentage of participants in outreach activities, such as participation in conferences, conferences or citizen science projects.

After television, social networks are the main channel for information on science and technology, especially among young people. And they consider the most appropriate source to be universities and public research centers, rather than the disseminators. Next to them come the private research centers, and further back the press, the museums...

Most believe that the information they receive about science is positive, and many (almost 70%) believe that it is true and understandable. But even more believe that it is not enough (80%).

Artificial intelligence and climate change

In the question about artificial intelligence, they were asked to give their opinion about the most popular applications, and many people did not know what to answer. Among those who responded, they saw more benefits of facial recognition technologies than harms, including voice assistants. The benefits and harms are quite high in automatic systems for creating texts, images or videos. And the risks outweigh the benefits in algorithms to advise content or products on social networks and websites.

As far as the climate emergency is concerned, it is a serious or very serious issue for most of them (just over 80%). Only a minority believe that the risks are exaggerated (18.7%). At the other extreme, 21.8% believe that it is irreversible and that nothing can be done. And almost 30% believe that adopting coping measures will lead to a deterioration in the quality of life, especially for those with low incomes. The truth is that opinions are very divided into concrete questions about the measures: to what extent they will be beneficial for quality of life, job creation and purchasing power. In them, there is not much consensus. It will be interesting to follow up on these aspects and to analyze in detail the different population groups according to which some trends can be classified.