American Skepticism Toward AI Surges as Knowledge Increases, Gallup Finds

Knowledge Breeds Caution

According to Gallup, as reported by Decrypt, Americans’ familiarity with artificial intelligence has expanded considerably, yet this growing awareness has coincided with mounting apprehension about the technology’s broader implications. Seven in ten Americans now report being somewhat or extremely knowledgeable about AI, a notable increase from 64% recorded in 2024. However, this elevated familiarity has not translated into greater confidence or enthusiasm for AI’s future role in society.

The shift in sentiment has been dramatic. Nearly four in ten Americans—39%—now believe artificial intelligence produces more harm than benefit, a significant jump from 31% just one year prior. By contrast, only 9% of respondents contend that AI generates more good than harm, while a majority of 52% perceive the technology as producing equivalent amounts of positive and negative outcomes. The transition has proven most pronounced among younger demographics, with nearly half of Americans aged 18 to 29 now viewing AI as harmful, compared to 36% in 2025.

Trust in Corporate Stewardship Erodes

Americans’ confidence in business leadership to deploy artificial intelligence responsibly has deteriorated significantly. Just 27% of survey respondents expressed at least some trust in corporations to manage the technology ethically, down from 31% in 2025. The decline has been especially acute among younger adults, where trust collapsed from 30% to 20%, even as the proportion expressing no trust whatsoever climbed from 29% to 41%.

Concerns about labor market disruption compound this erosion of faith in institutional management. According to Gallup, nearly four-fifths of Americans—79%—anticipate that artificial intelligence will diminish the number of U.S. jobs over the coming decade, up from 73% in 2025. Among workers aged 18 to 29, expectations of job losses rose to 75% from 62%, while those between 45 and 59 saw such expectations climb from 75% to 84%. Despite these reservations, Americans continue to rate human judgment as superior across multiple domains, including hiring decisions, creative endeavors, and educational support, even when acknowledging that AI capabilities now rival or exceed human performance in certain technical tasks.

Broader Context on Technology Acceptance

The Gallup findings align with concurrent research indicating persistent American unease surrounding artificial intelligence. An NBC News survey conducted in March found that while 56% of Americans had recently engaged with AI applications like ChatGPT or Google Gemini, 57% simultaneously assessed that the technology’s risks overshadow its advantages. An Anthropic survey of nearly 52,000 Americans published in June identified employment displacement as the foremost public concern across all states and political affiliations, with merely 15% expressing confidence that AI companies can be entrusted with decisions governing technological development and deployment.

This divergence—where increased exposure to technology correlates with increased apprehension—suggests that as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in everyday systems, public scrutiny of governance frameworks and institutional accountability mechanisms will intensify, particularly regarding financial and labor markets. Declining trust in centralized institutions managing transformative technologies may accelerate interest in decentralized alternatives and transparent systems that prioritize user control and oversight.

Source: Gallup, via Decrypt. Not financial advice.