AI Gender Gap: Men Are More Confident—but More Likely to Recognize Fake AI Leaders

You may know the names of prominent artificial intelligence leaders such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. But a new Harvard survey suggests that confidence about AI knowledge does not always match reality—particularly among men.

In a survey of more than 5,400 Americans, 73 percent of male respondents said they knew who Altman was. Just over half—53 percent—said they were familiar with Mira Murati, Susan Milner, and Craig Dalton.

There was one significant problem: Murati is a real person. She is the former chief technology officer of OpenAI and currently the CEO of Thinking Machine Labs. Milner and Dalton, however, do not exist.

Men Reported More Confidence in Their AI Knowledge

Laura Manley, executive director of the Shorenstein Center at Harvard Kennedy School, told WIRED that men are “overall more optimistic and confident” than women when it comes to AI. In some cases, that confidence may become overconfidence, such as claiming to recognize a fictitious AI executive.

For comparison, 40 percent of women said they knew who Milner and Dalton were, while 38 percent said they recognized Murati. Manley said previous research shows that men are generally more overconfident. The report, released Wednesday, also examines the AI trust gap and the potential impact of gender disparities.

Researchers found that men used AI more often and were able to answer factual questions about AI correctly more frequently, on average. However, men and women answered questions incorrectly at about the same rate. The difference was largely driven by how often respondents said they did not know the answer: women gave that response an average of 3.3 times out of 12 questions, compared with 2.3 times for men.

Men Dominate AI Media Coverage and Expert Commentary

Researchers also examined whether this preference for certainty could influence media coverage of AI. Over the course of a year, men appeared in AI-related headlines more than 14 times as often as women.

Because senior AI executives are disproportionately male, researchers narrowed their analysis to people cited as subject-matter experts. Three-quarters of those experts were men—a higher proportion than the overall AI talent pool, which is approximately 29 percent female.

“Maybe there should be more visibility of women as experts or in representation, but I don’t know,” Manley said.

Women Report More Anxiety About Artificial Intelligence

Americans broadly agree that AI is surprising, with both men and women identifying “concern” as their top emotional response. Female respondents, however, reported more worry, fear, and anxiety than male respondents.

Men rated every positive emotion higher than women, including curiosity, enthusiasm, and excitement. Manley said the current AI debate is shaped by “a very strong belief in either ruin or abundance.”

“It just drowns out all the voices that should be saying, ‘I don’t get it,’” she said.

As questions remain about the appropriate uses and future of AI, one gender appears less likely to acknowledge uncertainty.

“We have to learn to say ‘I don’t know’ more often,” Manley said.