From cutting emissions to reducing congestion and creating liveable cities, self-driving vehicles promise to protect the environment while at the same time revolutionize the transport industry. But for now at least, the majority of Americans aren’t buying into the technology.

According to a recent Northeastern University/Gallup survey of Americans’ attitudes towards artificial intelligence, 54 per cent of Americans said they are unlikely to use self-driving cars. The apprehension goes down with age and education. College graduates are twice as likely to use a self-driving car than those without a college degree, and Americans aged 18 to 35 are three times as likely to let technology take the wheel than those 66 years of age or older.

An even higher number – 59 per cent – indicated that they would be highly uncomfortable riding in self-driving cars. Less than a quarter said they would be comfortable or extremely comfortable riding in such a car.

But Gallup cautions that this attitude could easily change given the general tendency among Americans to underestimate their willingness to adopt new technology. For example, in a 2000 Gallup survey on cellphone technology, nearly a quarter of U.S. adults said they would never get a cellphone. Today, these tiny gadgets are virtually ubiquitous.