A new representative study measures an optimistic view of the future role of artificial intelligence and broad support for a climate-neutral economy among the people of Lower Saxony. Oldenburg researchers will continue to contribute data in the future - for example when it comes to the 2027 state elections.
Artificial intelligence has arrived in the everyday lives of people in Lower Saxony, but to very different degrees. This is shown by a recent study based on the "Lower Saxony Panel", in which 4,388 people from Lower Saxony took part. Overall, 43.6 per cent of respondents stated that they regularly use AI for everyday tasks. Among 18 to 34-year-olds, this figure is 61.2 per cent, compared to just 31.5 per cent of those aged 54 and over.
University of Oldenburg involved in the Lower Saxony Panel
The "Lower Saxony Panel" uses a representative survey pool to scientifically record the attitudes, preferences and behaviour of the population of Lower Saxony over an extended period of time. Since 2025, the project participants in the "Behavioural Economics and Social Transformation" science area have been making targeted efforts to recruit respondents. Seven universities in Lower Saxony, including the University of Oldenburg, and the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology are cooperating on the project.
Researchers from Oldenburg, led by political scientist Prof Dr Jan Sauermann from the Institute of Social Sciences, have also conducted initial rounds of surveys on the topics of AI and climate change. In future, they plan to survey political attitudes among people in Lower Saxony as part of the panel.
"Our working group is focusing on the aspect of polarisation," explains Sauermann. "We are looking at the conditions under which extremes in society become stronger and why compromises seem to become more difficult." The political scientist plans to ask participants about their political attitudes before, during and after the state elections in 2027. There is no comparable data on such a large scale from Lower Saxony in particular.
Lower Saxons are optimistic people
The analysis of the first panel survey shows that the people of Lower Saxony are optimistic, both with regard to the social effects and the performance of artificial intelligence. 67.5 per cent of respondents agree with the statement that the majority of society will benefit from a future shaped by AI. A similarly high proportion are of the opinion that AI can now perform most routine tasks better than humans. These assessments are remarkably stable across age groups; older respondents even rate the performance of AI particularly favourably.
Despite this positive basic attitude, AI is still associated with unease for many. 42.6 per cent of respondents agree with the statement that they find artificial intelligence scary. However, the proportion of those who disagree with this assessment is almost as high. There is a clear difference between the sexes here: 50.2 per cent of women find AI scary, compared to 35.7 per cent of men.
"At the latest since the widespread use of language models such as ChatGPT, the public discussion about possible job losses due to AI has picked up speed," says Dr Janina Kraus from the University of Lüneburg, lead author of the study. "In contrast, the Lower Saxony panel shows a rather optimistic picture here too. Only 17.8 per cent of respondents are worried about losing their job due to AI. This concern is slightly more pronounced among women than men and slightly more common among people without a university degree than those with a university degree."
Climate change: scepticism is unevenly distributed
A differentiated picture also emerges when it comes to climate change. A clear majority of respondents assume that the global climate is changing. In contrast, 14.8 per cent deny the existence of climate change. However, this scepticism is not evenly distributed across the population. Women (18.6 per cent) are more likely to express doubts about the existence of climate change than men (11.2 per cent). The difference is particularly marked according to education and political views. Among people without a university degree, the proportion of those who do not believe that the global climate is changing is 19.5 per cent; among people with an academic education, it is 9.4 per cent. Similar differences can be found between respondents with a more left-wing political orientation (9.5 per cent) and those with a more right-wing political orientation (19.8 per cent).
Despite differing assessments of the existence, cause and individual influence of climate change, there is broad agreement on the central goals of ecological transformation. 83.4 per cent of respondents agree with the statement that the future of the economy must be climate-neutral. While the overwhelming majority of respondents believe that consumption should be reduced and goods should be recycled and reused more, only a third would agree if this were at the expense of economic development.
CO₂ pricing was introduced in Germany in 2021 as a concrete climate policy instrument. 65.0 per cent of respondents do not feel at all or rather poorly informed about the CO₂ price. The majority of respondents correctly recognise that climate protection is an objective of the CO₂ price and that it makes activities with CO₂ emissions more expensive. However, only 41.5 per cent correctly stated that the CO₂ price means that you pay for CO₂ that you cause yourself.
"The data shows: There is broad support for climate policy goals in Lower Saxony. But when it comes to specific instruments such as the CO₂ price, there are considerable gaps in knowledge," says Prof Dr Mario Mechtel from the University of Lüneburg, who heads the "Lower Saxony Panel". "This is politically relevant. Acceptance depends not only on whether people share a goal, but also on whether they understand how a measure works and why it is being used."
Changes measurable over time
"As a large and diverse state, Lower Saxony is a particularly exciting real-world laboratory," says lead author Kraus. "The panel makes it possible to visualise differences between population groups, regions and living situations - and to observe these developments over the long term." Mechtel adds: "The results so far show how important it is to look at differences within the population. There is not simply 'the' attitude of people in Lower Saxony. Rather, we see clear differences according to age, gender, education and political orientation. This is precisely what is crucial for politics, business and science if measures are to be understandable and effective."
This text is based on a press release from the "Behavioural Economics and Social Transformation" research area
