More than half of Americans now view AI negatively
Concern continues to climb for adults under 30, as people fear being replaced by AI
A recent survey by the Pew Research Center reveals that more than half of American adults now view artificial intelligence (AI) negatively. This shift in attitude has been fueled primarily by concerns over potential job losses caused by AI technology. The poll found that a staggering 71 percent of US adults believe AI will lead to fewer jobs in the country over the next two decades, up from 64 percent two years prior.
Just 5 percent hold the optimistic view that AI will create more jobs, while 10 percent think it will have little impact, and a slightly larger share remain uncertain.
The negative sentiment towards AI has steadily increased since Pew started asking about this topic in 2021. Back then, a larger portion of respondents were either excited or had a mix of both emotions regarding the technology. However, the number of people expressing concern has now risen to 52 percent, while those who remain excited have halved, from 18 percent to 9 percent.
The shift in opinion is particularly pronounced among younger generations. A quarter of adults aged 18 to 29 now express concern over job losses due to AI, up from less than a third in 2021. This age group is now on par with those in their 30s and 40s in terms of concern, and their views are now shared by the 65 and older demographic. Most age groups show an increasing trend of Americans foreseeing job losses from AI in business.
Interestingly, young adults are more likely to believe AI will be detrimental to society. They see potential difficulties in connecting with others and decreased creativity as the technology advances. Despite this, many young adults still use chatbots, but they are equally likely to perceive these tools as hurting their creativity rather than helping it.
Amidst this concerns, some US workers might find solace in Anthropic's claim that AI is not eliminating as many jobs as experts had previously predicted. Alternatively, some may consider relocating to China, where a recent court ruling has deemed it unlawful to replace human workers with AI.
Written by urgent.news from The Register Science's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
