ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Artificial intelligence (AI) holds tremendous promise for consumers, offering benefits such as improved efficiency in customer service, innovative tools for work, communication and entertainment, and more personalised services. However, significant challenges still exist. Consumer groups have reported a range of risks, including a lack of transparency and accountability, as well as manipulative practices that can mislead consumers. Additional concerns include bias and discrimination, threats to privacy, and vulnerabilities in security systems. 

These issues have contributed to low consumer trust in AI. In 2023, more than half of people reported feeling nervous about AI products and services – a 13% increase from the year before. Meanwhile, 57% of consumers believe that AI poses a significant threat to their privacy. Our research further highlights where consumer safeguards in AI could be strengthened. Despite these concerns, AI is growing rapidly, with an annual growth rate of 37% projected through 2030.

Our Vision for Fair and Responsible AI

Fair and responsible AI means designing with consumers from the outset. Our vision is for an AI landscape that is truly open and accessible, upholds the highest benchmarks of consumer protection, features inclusive and representative governance frameworks, and ensures consumers have meaningful avenues for redress and representation.   

For World Consumer Rights Day 2024, we identified four key priorities to guide this vision and ensure consumers are at the centre of AI policymaking. These were informed by insights from consumer advocates in over 30 countries. 

  1. Consumer advocacy organisations possess the skills, knowledge and resources to advocate for fair and responsible AI policies in their jurisdiction​ 
  2. Consumer perspectives are heard and involved in policymaking processes​ 
  3. National governments adjust policies in response to consumer advocacy​ 
  4. Providers can champion best practices and share with other providers/researchers/advocates in formalised settings 

We need a collective response to ensure these priorities are implemented and upheld. 

Read our vision

Designing AI with the Consumer in Mind

The AI opportunity for consumers is increasingly clear – personalised experiences, efficient customer service, and innovative new products to speed up work and communication. But despite being at the frontier of its deployment and use, consumers are rarely involved in the design of technology policy or development.  

As AI reshapes the global economy, it also mirrors and amplifies existing inequities making the consumer response essential. Today, over 30% of the world’s population remains offline (ITU, 2024), limiting billions from access to AI tools and platforms. At the same time, only 20% of countries have laws that guarantee consumer redress for digital harm (UNCTAD, 2021), leaving many without protection when AI systems fail or discriminate. Despite these issues, 80% of AI governance frameworks originate in the Global North and are largely voluntary (2024),  leaving many developing nations without a voice in shaping global standards. Transparency also remains a major concern, with leading AI models averaging just 58 out of 100 (Stanford, 2024), making it difficult for consumers to evaluate their safety and fairness. Yet consumer groups—among the most trusted entities on AI issues such as privacy and safety (Consumer Reports, 2020)—have a critical role to play. Their active involvement is essential to ensuring AI develops in ways that are inclusive, accountable, and just.  

Consumer organisations stand ready to bridge this gap and bring the consumer voice to AI design. They are the trusted authority for consumers around the world. With greater resources, tools and strategies, they can make significant headwind in improving consumer experiences and building consumer trust.   

Artificial Intelligence: With and For Consumers 

To ensure AI is fair and responsible for consumers, we believe it must be grounded in four key principles: AI is accessible, transparent and understandable; AI policy and practice is fair and inclusive by design; AI products and services are accountable and rooted in human rights; and AI is used to empower people and consumer advocates. 

To achieve this, we are developing a new programme, a global network and initiative, underpinned by three enablers:  

1)  Building the capacity of consumer organisations to evaluate, explain and advocate for fair and responsible AI; 

2) Supporting consumer groups to adopt and engage with AI tools in new and more effective ways; 

3) Equipping consumer protection authorities and advocates to identify and address both the challenges and opportunities posed by AI.  

By strengthening the confidence, skills and resources of these groups, we can empower them to expand their influence, deepen their impact, surface new use cases, and better represent the diverse needs of consumers. 

 

How to get involved

Join us in developing and refining this initiative, coming in at the ground level to shape its direction and scope.   

AI Chatbots Experiment

In 2024 we coordinated a global exercise among our Members to test generative AI chatbots. Consumer advocates in over 30 countries assessed these new tools using trust measures we designed, reporting positive and intuitive experiences but also uncovering several instances where safeguards could be strengthened. As part of our programme for World Consumer Rights Day, we shared the results with a community of more than 100 organisations committed to consumer protection and provided them with deep dives on responsible data policy and the challenges of deepfakes, scams and misinformation. 

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Join us

We work with leading organisations across government, business, academia and civil society who are united behind our vision to put consumers at the forefront of policy-making. We mobilise a global network of consumer advocacy organisations and powerful private sector actors around core issues to create impactful campaigns, advocate for robust policies, gather evidence and bring the consumer voice into policymaking at the international level. 

Together, we can build a future where artificial intelligence works for everyone. To learn more about our work or to express your interest, please reach out to impact@consint.org.