According to the qualitative study, "89% of respondents believe that AI has made their lives easier, with help finding information faster (74%) and saving time through task automation (57%) being the main facilitators."

Among the uses of artificial intelligence "most recognised by the Portuguese as impacting their daily lives are navigation and traffic updates (57%), virtual assistants (56%), AI-generated content (52%), and customer support via chatbots (45%)."

Around "8% consider that AI does not impact their daily lives," and 11% of respondents state that it makes life more complicated, "mainly due to their perception that it can be biased or misleading (67%), appear impersonal or robotic (66%), and reduce human decision-making (60%)."

The study was conducted by Netsonda through online questionnaires with a representative sample of 800 individuals between the ages of 18 and 64, with a margin of error of 3.46%.

Reshaping industries

"AI is reshaping industries and societies around the world—and Portugal plays a key role in this transformation. Lisbon has emerged as a powerful interconnection hub, enabling efficient data flows between continents," says Ivo Ivanov, CEO of DE-CIX, quoted in a statement.

The study, whose data collection took place between April 9th ​​and 16th of this year, "highlights how deeply AI is already embedded in people's daily lives in Portugal, bringing with it opportunities and responsibilities for the future," emphasizes Ivo Ivanov.

According to the study, the Portuguese view AI as a tool to help with language translation (63%) and facilitate access to educational resources (58%).

"Nearly three in 10 respondents (27%) have already used AI-based educational tools, with people between 18 and 24 reporting adoption rates of 42%," and among those who have already used them, "more than half (57%) are 'very satisfied' with the experience."

Healthcare

In healthcare, "two-thirds of Portuguese people believe that AI can improve healthcare services by reducing wait times (66%) and improving efficiency through the automation of administrative tasks (63%)."

Regarding medical procedures, "the Portuguese are divided: half (50%) currently feel comfortable with the use of AI in medical diagnoses and treatments, although there is a small difference between men and women."

More than half of men (55%) feel more comfortable than women (46%).

Regarding the main reasons for feeling comfortable with the use of AI in medicine, "the main ones are the ability to quickly analyze medical data (67%) and help in monitoring health indicators (55%).

Fear of diagnostic errors is the main reason why "Portuguese people are not comfortable with the use of AI in medical treatments and diagnoses (55%), followed by the fear that AI errors could negatively affect treatment outcomes (50%)."