- 71% of Americans say AI is evolving too quickly, 51% say it’s faster than they expected
- Low-paid workers at risk while high earners and tech giants are set to benefit
- ‘AI hate wave’ is emerging as communities fight back
New Economist data sourced from a recent YouGov poll has revealed nearly three in four (71%) Americans feel AI development is happening too quickly.
The report found US citizens aren’t just worried about AI itself, but also about whether governments, regulators and society in general can realistically keep pace with the rapid rate of innovation.
In fact, there are twice as many ‘AI pessimists’ than ‘AI optimists’ in the US and the sentiment is reflected across all political beliefs, indicating skepticism over the technology and its impacts, rather than how specific governments are responding to regulation.
US citizens aren’t comfortable with AI’s pace of innovation
Quinnipiac University research also found that a high proportion of Americans (51%) say the pace of AI development is moving faster than they expected.
Concerns span a broad range of the technology’s impacts, with citizens worried about economic disruption, misinformation, privacy, social impacts and job displacements.
The data indicates that concern centers around the idea that AI may be better for Big Tech and highly skilled workers, with SMBs and entry-level workers disproportionately hit. As many as two in three (64%) feel that AI won’t benefit everybody, compared with 8% believing that it’s ‘very likely’ to.
This reflects earlier Economist/YouGov data revealing around two-thirds (63%) of Americans believe that AI would reduce the number of jobs available in the future. Back then, only 35% expressed trust in artificial intelligence.
More than half (55%) of the families surveyed with a combined $50,000 income or less said they’re somewhat or very worried about AI replacing their jobs.
On the jobs front, four in five would also be unwilling to work a job where an AI agent is their direct ‘boss’.
Regulation isn’t keeping pace
The Quinnipiac study also found that 76% of US citizens don’t feel that businesses are doing enough to be transparent about AI, while a similar number (74%) feel the government should be doing more to regulate the use of AI.
“Americans are not rejecting AI outright, but they are sending a warning,” Associate Professor of Business Analytics and Information Systems Tamilla Triantoro wrote. “Too much uncertainty, too little trust, too little regulation, and too much fear about jobs.”
Separately, Axios revealed an emerging ‘AI hate wave’ driven by the same fears – job losses, concentration of wealth and environmental concerns. As well as national concerns, local opposition has been rising among communities near data center projects, particularly due to high water use, power demand and local infrastructure pressures, all leading to higher utility bills.
President Trump previously responded to this, urging tech giants to “pay their own way” so that US citizens needn’t “pick up the tab.”
Ultimately, these findings suggest that America’s growing unease with AI is not out of fear of the technology, but rather the correlation between innovation and regulation.
Looking ahead, capability and performance is no longer the question. Instead, companies must invest in earning trust, even at the cost of innovation, while governments are facing demands to regulate socioeconomic impacts.
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