Ada Lovelace and Alan Turing Institutes

Investigating public attitudes to artificial intelligence

We used interactive data visualisation to allow anyone from policymakers to the general public to examine survey responses.

What we did

  • Content strategy
  • Usability testing
  • Website design and build
  • Digital data visualisation

Impact measured against UN Sustainable Development Goals

04 quality education S 09 industry innovation and infra S 10 reduced inequalities S
View impact report

Together, the Alan Turing and Ada Lovelace Institutes have conducted a nationally representative survey of over 4,000 adults in Britain, to understand how the public currently experience artificial intelligence (AI).

We worked with the two teams to create a detailed yet easy to understand digital version of the report.

Highlights of the report include:

  • Respondents had broadly positive views about the majority of AI uses that were asked about, but expressed concerns about some uses.
  • Digging deeper into people’s perceptions of AI shows that the British public hold highly nuanced views on the specific advantages and disadvantages associated with different uses of AI.
  • While nine out of ten British adults find the use of AI for cancer detection to be broadly beneficial, over half (56%) are concerned about relying too heavily on this technology rather than on professional judgements.
  • The public wants regulation of AI technologies, though this differs by age group.

The project had a number of standout challenges and opportunities. Working with such detailed information required a huge focus on accessibility from our content, UX, design and development teams to create an inclusive product.

attitudestoai.uk

Designing a distinct look and feel that embodies trust, nuance and simplicity

When we started designing the website, we needed it to truly reflect the spirit of two independent organisations: the Ada Lovelace and Alan Turing Institutes. These organisations are involved in complex and critical research, so our challenge was to create a website that was easy to understand, yet showcased the intricacy of their work.

A flexible graphic pattern representing nuanced public opinions underpins the look of the site.

The headline typeface – TWK Everett – was chosen for its combined human and technological feel, with its contrasting stroke thickness and unjoined diagonal strokes. These strokes visually reference the hatched diagonal pattern. The choice of a grotesque san-serif nods to the identities of both parent institutes.

The hatched linework of the patterns is also used to decorate page headers as well as informing the style of various content blocks.

Developing user trust through the design of the site was important, as we needed readers to believe in the research. The end result is a well-balanced design that is clean and simple to navigate while also showcasing the full detail of the report.

Making complicated information easy to understand

To simplify the complex information, we used content blocks to break up the material into scannable chunks. Accessible graphs and data visualisations were required to clarify the research. This necessitated a collaborative effort between designers and developers, aiming to build a practical, flexible, and accessible solution.

Accessible data visualisation

We integrated the creation of charts directly into the content management system, providing an adaptable tool for future survey reporting. Instead of opting for pre-made solutions, we designed and built the charts from scratch, ensuring they met print, desktop, and mobile needs.

The hatched linework from the visual identity was also carried through into the charts to create tonality without compromising on colour contrast.

To aid clarity in reading the data visualisation, each bar in a chart is separated with white space so that colours never run into each other. The colour palette was carefully chosen to have strong contrast while also allowing for various colour vision deficiencies.

The data visualisation palette simulated with various colour vision deficiencies: 1. Green-weak (Deuteranomaly), 2. Green-blind (Deuteranopia), 3. Red-weak (Protanomaly), 4. Red-blind (Protanopia), 5. Blue-weak (Tritanomaly), 6. Blue-blind (Tritanopia), 7. Monochromacy (Achromatopsia), 8. Blue cone monochromacy

Our approach combined visual accessibility with digital interactivity, such as allowing users to filter only the data they wanted to see. By doing so we successfully transformed complicated findings into a more digestible format.

Interactive tooltips allow the data to be read on even the smallest screens.

Using Google Scholar to expand the content’s reach

To broaden the findings’ visibility, search engine optimisation focused on Google Scholar, a platform indexing scholarly works. To meet user expectations we linked to a PDF version of the full report on a standalone page.

To prevent search engine confusion if the report appeared on other sites, like the Ada Lovelace or Alan Turing Institute, we ensured a canonical link was added, signifying our site as a priority to Google.

This effective SEO approach significantly increased the website’s exposure, amplifying the reach of the report insights.