User trust in AI and major tech companies in twelve countries

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are increasingly present in virtually all life domains, but the trustworthiness of these new technologies and the companies developing them has been a topic of heated public debate. We examined how basic psychological needs in technology use, AI self-efficacy, and positive attitudes toward AI are associated with trust in AI and in major tech companies. Data were collected in 2024 and include 11,259 participants from Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, and Oceania. We used linear regression for data analysis. We found that having positive attitudes toward AI and experiencing relatedness in technology use consistently predicted trust in AI and in major tech companies. However, technological autonomy, competence, and self-efficacy in AI use predicted trust only in specific countries. Our findings provide novel insights into the human factors that affect trust in AI and its developers, and as such, they are of relevance for successful AI development, integration, and use. Our study includes culturally diverse perspectives and thus contributes to the debate on establishing fair global AI practices and overcoming the ‘AI divide’.