Why Women Don't Trust AI
New research shows women are more likely to worry about the impact of new technologies.
As the use of artificial intelligence has risen exponentially over the past few years, research has consistently shown that women have been slower to integrate AI in their work and personal lives than men. Some economists have warned this could exacerbate the gender pay gap.
What’s less well established is the precise reason for the adoption gap. Theories have included the idea that women are less technologically literate, that they have less access to AI platforms, or that they are inherently more risk averse.
Now, new research led by academics at Oxford suggests the explanation is more nuanced. Drawing on nationally representative survey data from the U.K., the study of around 8,000 respondents concludes that women’s lower uptake of generative AI tools has little to do with skills or access. Instead, it is driven largely by how women perceive the broader societal risks associated with the new technology.
According to the paper—which is entitled ‘Women Worry, Men Adopt: How Gendered Perceptions Shape the Use of Generative AI’—women are significantly more likely than men to worry about the wider consequences of generative AI, including its effects on employment, privacy, misinformation, mental health, and even the environment.
The researchers concluded that women’s hesitation is less about fear of personal safety, and more about a concern for AI’s broader societal and ethical consequences.
One of the study’s most striking findings is that the gap persists even among young, highly educated, and digitally confident users. In other words, women who are perfectly capable of using tools like ChatGPT—and who already engage heavily with technology—remain more hesitant. That hesitation appears to be less about fear of the tools themselves and more about skepticism over what they represent and how they are being deployed.
At the same time, the research offers a more hopeful takeaway. When respondents believe that generative AI will have positive social effects, women’s adoption rates increase markedly. This suggests the gender gap is not fixed or inevitable. Perceptions can change—and so can behavior.
