National poll finds Americans have mixed feelings about how AI is affecting society
PRESS RELEASE FROM QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY:
JACKSON, Tenn. — A Quinnipiac University national poll of adults conducted in collaboration with the Quinnipiac University School of Computing & Engineering and the Quinnipiac University School of Business finds Americans have mixed feelings about how artificial intelligence is affecting society and have conflicting views on AI’s impact on the job market, but they are in sync when it comes to concerns about AI’s impact on the youngest generation and think businesses and the government are not doing enough in their roles around the technology.
- A plurality of Americans (44 percent) think AI will do more harm than good in their day-to-day life, while 38 percent think AI will do more good than harm and 18 percent did not offer an opinion.
- A majority of Americans (54 percent) think AI will do more harm than good in education, while 32 percent think AI will do more good than harm and 15 percent did not offer an opinion.
- Nearly 6 in 10 Americans (59 percent) think AI will do more good than harm in medical advances, while 24 percent think AI will do more harm than good and 17 percent did not offer an opinion.
AMERICANS EXPECT AI WILL CAUSE JOB LOSSES BUT WORKERS DON’T THINK THEIR OWN JOBS WILL DISAPPEAR
A majority of Americans (56 percent) think advancements in AI are likely to lead to a decrease in the number of job opportunities for people, 24 percent think it will not make much of a difference, and 13 percent think it is likely to lead to an increase in the number of job opportunities for people.
Among Americans who are employed, 21 percent say they are either very concerned (6 percent) or somewhat concerned (15 percent) that AI may make their jobs obsolete, while a vast majority (78 percent) say they are either not so concerned (22 percent) or not concerned at all (56 percent).
TRUST IN AI DEVELOPMENT
Americans were asked whether they believe AI development is being led by people and organizations that represent their interests. Five percent believe they do represent their interests, while 37 percent believe they do not represent their interests, and a majority of Americans (54 percent) say they don’t know enough about it to say.
Other key findings:
- More than 8 in 10 Americans (83 percent) express concern that AI will diminish the ability of the youngest generation to think for themselves and Gen Z Americans share that concern.
- Americans 73 – 13 percent think that businesses are not doing enough to be transparent about their use of AI.
- Americans 69 – 15 percent think that the government is not doing enough to regulate the use of AI.
For full results, methodology, and trends, please visit poll.qu.edu
