Pew Research: Only 16% of Americans think AI will benefit society

Pew Research has identified a troubling gap for the AI industry: while technologies are already entering the everyday lives of Americans en masse, attitudes toward them remain rather cautious. Only 16% of Americans believe that AI will have a positive impact on society over the next 20 years, while 40% expect it to cause harm.

The Gap Between Market and People

Against the backdrop of investment booms, a race of models, and rising valuations of AI-related companies, these figures sound like a cold shower. According to Pew Research, another 31% of Americans believe that AI's influence will be both good and bad, while 13% are uncertain what to expect. In other words, confident optimism remains the position of a clear minority.

If we look not at society as a whole but at people's personal lives, the picture is somewhat softer, but still tilted toward the negative: 31% expect a negative effect for themselves, while 23% expect a positive one. Young people stand out particularly—often considered most comfortable with new technologies. Americans aged 18 to 29 turned out to be not more loyal but, on the contrary, more anxious: 48% in this group believe AI will negatively impact society, and 37% expect a negative effect for themselves personally.

This is significant because young users are typically the first to try new digital tools. Mass adoption does not automatically translate into trust—and this is one of the key findings of the survey.

AI Already in Daily Life

That said, it cannot be said that Americans are ignoring the technology. The survey shows that approximately half of American adults already use AI chatbots, and about a quarter use them daily. The most common scenarios are information search and work tasks. In other words, AI no longer looks like a niche tool for developers or early enthusiasts: it has become a regular part of digital life, even if attitudes toward it remain cool.

• About half of American adults already use AI chatbots, and roughly one in four does so daily.
• 42% use chatbots for information search, and 38% of working adults for work tasks.
• The most popular service is ChatGPT: 44% of American adults have used it.
• Next are Gemini with 24%, Copilot with 17%, and Meta AI with 14%.
• One in ten users say they have turned to chatbots for emotional support.

Why Anxiety Is Growing

The main source of skepticism is not the presence of AI itself but the feeling that it is developing too fast and is too weakly controlled. About 63% of Americans believe that AI development is proceeding at too rapid a pace. Anxiety is even more pronounced on privacy issues: 71% expect that with wider use of AI, their personal data will become less protected.

Against the backdrop of constant discussions about data collection, automatic profiling, and model errors, such a reaction appears quite predictable. No less significant is the crisis of trust in institutions. 67% of respondents have little or no belief that American authorities can effectively regulate AI.

59% are equally skeptical about companies' ability to develop and apply these systems responsibly. This creates a double gap: people see that technology is spreading ever wider but are uncertain about both government control and business self-regulation. For the industry, this is no longer merely an image problem but a constraint on further product adoption.

What This Means

The Pew study shows a simple thing: growth in AI use does not automatically mean public consent for how it is being deployed. People are willing to try chatbots for search, work, and everyday tasks, but expect the industry to provide clearer benefits, proper data protection, and clear rules. Until that happens, the market may be thrilled about AI while the general public views it with considerable distrust.

*Meta has been recognized as an extremist organization and is banned in the Russian Federation.