GoKawiilHarvard survey finds men overstate AI knowledge, cite fake experts as real
A Harvard Kennedy School Shorenstein Center survey of over 5,400 Americans found 53 percent of men claimed familiarity with two fictional AI figures, Susan Milner and Craig Dalton, compared with 40 percent of women. The same survey found men use AI more often and answer factual questions about it correctly slightly more often, but largely because women are more likely to say they don't know an answer rather than guess wrong.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The findings suggest a broader pattern in which confidence, not necessarily competence, shapes perceived authority on AI, which researchers say could skew who gets quoted as an expert in media coverage. The report notes men were named in AI-related headlines over 14 times more often than women, a gap that may reflect both industry demographics and this confidence disparity rather than actual expertise differences.
- 53% of male respondents claimed to know fictional AI figures 'Susan Milner' and 'Craig Dalton,' versus 40% of women.
- Men and women got roughly the same number of factual AI questions wrong, but women were far more likely to admit uncertainty.
- Men appeared in AI-related headlines more than 14 times as often as women, according to the researchers' media analysis.
Source: wired.com — Kate Taylor, 2026-10-14
Published there as: “Men Can’t Stop Faking How Much They Know About AI”
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