More Americans are concerned about AI’s role in daily life, new data shows
According to the Pew Research Center, 52% of Americans say their concern about artificial intelligence in daily life far outweighs their excitement. Image from Shutterstock.
More than half of Americans feel more concerned than excited about the increased use of artificial intelligence, according to results of a new national survey released Monday.
According to the Pew Research Center, 52% of Americans say their concern about AI in daily life far outweighs their excitement. Only 10% say they are more excited than concerned, while 36% say they are equally excited and concerned.
“The share of Americans who are mostly concerned about AI in daily life is up 14 percentage points since December 2022, when 38% expressed this view,” according to the survey results.
Courthouse News Service, which has coverage, noted that the emergence of AI-powered language models and other tools has led to conversations on Capitol Hill about how to balance AI’s benefits and risks. The growing call for regulation also comes as more Americans embrace the use of AI in daily life; for example, lawyers are now using language models to prepare court briefs.
Engadget also reported on the new data.
The Pew Research Center said the increase in concern about AI coincides with increasing awareness of the technology. According to its data, 33% of adults have heard “a lot” about AI, a data point that is up 7 points since December. Additionally, 56% of adults have heard “a little” about AI.
Adults who have heard a lot about AI are 16 points more likely now to express concern, rather than excitement, about the technology than they were in December, the Pew Research Center said. Concern outweighs excitement by 47% to 15% in this most aware group, while in December, the margin was 31% to 23%.
“Our previous analyses have found that Americans’ concerns about AI include a desire to maintain human control over these technologies, doubts that AI will improve the way things are now, and caution over the pace of AI adoption in fields like health and medicine,” the Pew Research Center said.
The Pew Research Center found that while Americans have a negative view of AI’s impact on privacy, they do view its impact on other areas more positively. According to its data, 49% say AI helps more than it hurts when people are finding products and services that they are interested in online. Thirty-seven percent also say AI helps doctors provide quality care to patients, and 33% say it helps people find accurate information online.
The survey results additionally noted that Americans with higher levels of education are more likely to say AI has a positive impact on most areas except privacy.
“About six in 10 college graduates (59%) say that AI hurts more than it helps at keeping people’s personal information private,” according to the Pew Research Center. “Half of adults with lower levels of education also hold this view.”
