Americans Have Turned Against AI in Incredible Numbers
TL;DR
Futurism cites a new Pew poll showing that only 16 percent of surveyed US adults expect AI to have a positive impact on society. 40 percent expect AI to harm society, while 31 percent say it will negatively affect them personally. Usage is rising anyway: 49 percent use chatbots such as ChatGPT, and 25 percent use them daily. Pew put chatbot use at 33 percent in 2024. Gen Z is the clearest contradiction: 66 percent of adults aged 18 to 29 use AI chatbots, yet 48 percent expect AI to be bad for society.
Nauti's Take
This is the crack in the AI hype cycle: usage keeps getting mistaken for approval. Plenty of people use ChatGPT because it is useful, because work pressures them into it, or because everyone is testing the limits.
That does not mean they trust the companies behind it. More demos will not fix this gap.
The industry needs clearer control, more transparency, everyday value, and less self-congratulation.
Briefingshow
The important signal is not rejection through non-use. Americans are using AI more while trusting it less. That is a weak foundation for the industry: adoption can grow in the short term, but distrust can harden into resistance against products, data centers, workplace mandates, and friendly regulation.
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