Mastercard says a growing share of the global population believes artificial intelligence is eroding the line between truth and deception.
The survey, conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Mastercard, captured responses from more than 13,000 adults across 13 countries.
The poll reveals growing anxiety about AI-powered scams, identity theft, and deepfakes that blur digital reality.
“Nearly three-quarters agreed that AI will make it impossible to tell what’s real and what’s fake online, and only 13% of respondents were ‘very confident’ in their ability to identify AI-generated threats or scams.”
The finding highlights a deepening crisis of trust as generative systems capable of fabricating audio, images, and video continue to proliferate.
Johan Gerber, Mastercard’s global head of Security Solutions, says the erosion of trust could jeopardize not only consumers’ confidence but also the stability of the digital marketplace itself.
“If people feel more vulnerable in the virtual world than in their own homes, that signals that the trust in the technology that governs our lives is under threat – and there’s work to be done to achieve the full promise of the digital economy,”
Gerber argues that building trust into AI-driven systems is now an economic necessity, not a luxury.
“An AI-powered economy can only usher greater growth and deeper connection if we work together to make trust and security inseparable from innovation.”
According to Mastercard, cybercrime losses and damages totaled $9.5 trillion last year, a figure that would rank the shadow economy of hackers and fraudsters as the third-largest in the world. The payments giant also warns that the figure is growing with the emergence of AI tools that supercharge scams and accelerate attacks.
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