According to a survey of 25 countries, Indians are least aware of AI

Introduction

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly shaping economies, societies and individual lives. From automated customer service and recommendation engines to advanced machine-learning in health, finance and governance, AI’s imprint is expanding. As countries and citizens face the opportunities and challenges of this technology, public awareness and literacy around AI become critically important. A recent international survey by the Pew Research Center offers insight into how people around the world perceive and understand AI—including a striking result for India.

Key Findings: India’s Low Awareness

The survey asked adults across 25 countries about their familiarity with AI—specifically whether they had “heard or read a lot” or “heard or read a little” about artificial intelligence.

For India:

• Only 14% of Indian respondents said they had heard or read a lot about AI.
• A further proportion had heard or read a little, bringing the total at least somewhat aware to 46%.
• The 25-country median for “heard or read a lot / little” was around 81%, meaning India lags markedly.
• Among younger adults (aged 18-34 in India), only about 19% reported having heard or read a lot about AI—also among the lowest levels globally.
• Paradoxically, despite the low awareness, Indian respondents expressed very high trust in their country’s ability to regulate AI: nearly 90% said they believe their government could handle AI regulation effectively.

These findings point to a significant awareness gap: many in India may not be deeply familiar with AI concepts, yet feel confident about regulation and trust their government in this domain.

Interpretation & Underlying Factors

Why does India show such low awareness even as AI adoption and discourse rise globally? Several factors emerge:

1. Digital & educational divide
   Awareness of AI correlates strongly with internet use, frequency of connectivity, higher education and economic development. The survey notes that “people who say they are online almost constantly are more likely than others to have heard a lot about it.”
   In India, while the internet user base is large and growing, many populations remain offline or only intermittently connected; regional, linguistic and socio-economic divides persist. This limits broad public engagement with the topic of AI.
2. Relative novelty in public discourse
   In many developed economies, AI and its implications have been a topic of public discussion, policy debate and media coverage for years. The survey shows that in countries like France, Germany, Japan and the U.S., a substantially higher share (around 50% in some cases) say they have heard or read a lot about AI.
   In India, while technology adoption may be rapid, the discourse around AI—as concept, ethics, regulation—may not yet permeate at the same depth across all segments of society.
3. Focus on adoption over literacy
   Interestingly, other sources show that India does have strong usage or adoption signals (for instance generative AI tools, mobile apps) even if literacy/awareness is low.
   This suggests a disconnect: people may use AI-enabled tools without fully understanding the underlying technology, its implications or governance issues.
4. High trust despite low understanding
   The very high trust in government regulation, despite low awareness, indicates a cultural or institutional dimension. Many Indians seem to defer to authorities or feel confident that regulation is “taken care of” even if they themselves are not deeply knowledgeable. The survey summary describes this as a “paradox” of low awareness yet high trust.

Implications

The finding that India is among the least aware of AI among 25 countries has several important implications:

• Policy & education: A lack of awareness hampers meaningful public engagement in debates around AI ethics, data rights, labour impacts and regulation. Without basic literacy in what AI is and how it works, citizens may be poorly equipped to ask critical questions or make informed choices.
• Inclusion & equity: If awareness is concentrated in urban, more educated and digitally connected populations, there is a risk of further digital divide—where parts of the population are “passive consumers” of AI technologies rather than informed participants.
• Governance & trust: While high trust is positive, if it is based on limited understanding it may lead to complacency. Citizens might assume regulation is adequate when in reality governance frameworks may still be evolving.
• Opportunity for India: The low baseline means there is substantial room for improvement. With strong adoption signals and government focus on digital transformation (e.g., the national AI mission), initiatives to raise public AI literacy can yield high returns in terms of preparedness, innovation and inclusion.

Recommendations

To turn this awareness gap into an opportunity, several actionable steps can be taken:

1. Public awareness campaigns
   Launch broad-based educational initiatives (via schools, media, community centres) to explain what AI is, how it works, why it matters. Use relatable examples (mobile apps, voice assistants, image filters) to make AI concrete.
2. Curriculum integration
   Introduce age-appropriate modules on AI, data literacy and digital ethics in school and college curricula. Empower students not just to use AI tools but to understand them.
3. Inclusive outreach
   Ensure outreach reaches rural areas, non-English speakers and under-represented populations. Use local languages, simplified language, interactive formats.
4. Industry-academia-government collaboration
   Encourage cross-sector partnerships to create free resources (videos, podcasts, workshops) about AI. Governments can incentivise such programmes at state and district levels.
5. Transparent governance communication
   Given the high trust citizens place in their government, authorities should transparently communicate what regulations, safeguards and oversight mechanisms are in place for AI. This builds not just trust but informed trust.
6. Encouraging critical thinking
   Awareness shouldn’t just mean familiarity; it should also mean understanding implications—job impact, bias, privacy, ethics. Workshops or public dialogues can encourage critique and agency.

Conclusion

The survey by the Pew Research Center across 25 countries reveals a striking stat: India stands out for its relatively low awareness of artificial intelligence—even as usage and discourse around it accelerate. While only around 14% of Indian adults report having heard or read a lot about AI, and only approximately 46% say they have heard or read a little or a lot, the median across the 25 countries was about 81%.

This gap is not simply a problem—it is also a strategic opportunity. With its large, young, digitally connected population, and with momentum around AI in policy and industry, India can focus on boosting public AI literacy and inclusive engagement. For AI to be a tool of empowerment and equitable development—not merely a technology adopted by a few—it is vital that the citizenry understand what AI is, how it affects them, and how they can engage with it.

In short: awareness must keep pace with adoption. And India, by recognising the gap, has the potential to lead not only in AI usage, but in AI-literate citizenship.