  Despite pronouncements about the inevitable diffusion of artificial
intelligence and autonomous technologies, in practice it is human behavior, not
technology in a vacuum, that dictates how technology seeps into -- and changes
-- societies. In order to better understand how human preferences shape
technological adoption and the spread of AI-enabled autonomous technologies, we
look at representative adult samples of US public opinion in 2018 and 2020 on
the use of four types of autonomous technologies: vehicles, surgery, weapons,
and cyber defense. By focusing on these four diverse uses of AI-enabled
autonomy that span transportation, medicine, and national security, we exploit
the inherent variation between these AI-enabled autonomous use cases. We find
that those with familiarity and expertise with AI and similar technologies were
more likely to support all of the autonomous applications we tested (except
weapons) than those with a limited understanding of the technology. Individuals
that had already delegated the act of driving by using ride-share apps were
also more positive about autonomous vehicles. However, familiarity cut both
ways; individuals are also less likely to support AI-enabled technologies when
applied directly to their life, especially if technology automates tasks they
are already familiar with operating. Finally, opposition to AI-enabled military
applications has slightly increased over time.
