Only 16% of Americans believe in the positive impact of AI: a survey reveals growing skepticism
Social trust in artificial intelligence in the United States continues to plummet. According to a large-scale survey covering more than 5,100 American adults, only 16% of respondents expect AI to have a positive impact on society. Meanwhile, nearly 40% of those surveyed are decidedly negative, believing the technology will bring more harm than good.
Particularly alarming is the distrust of institutions tasked with overseeing AI development. 67% of survey participants do not believe the U.S. government is capable of effectively regulating this field. Another 59% express distrust of the developers themselves — the companies creating the algorithms. Nearly two-thirds of respondents (about 65%) are convinced that the pace of AI adoption is dangerous: the technology is advancing too quickly, outpacing public understanding and the regulatory framework.
Interestingly, the greatest skepticism is shown by the younger generation of Democrats (under 30). Among them, only 14% believe in a positive scenario. This points to a deep ideological divide: political preferences directly correlate with perceptions of technological risks.
However, the paradox is that against the backdrop of growing distrust, actual use of neural networks is sharply increasing. About a quarter of respondents admit to using chatbots daily. ChatGPT remains the absolute leader: its share among American adults has reached 44% — more than double the 2023 level. It is followed by Gemini (24%), Copilot (17%), and Meta AI (14%).
This trend is confirmed by other studies. In May, YouGov recorded that 71% of Americans consider AI development too fast, with the ratio of pessimists to optimists at 2:1 (51% vs. 25%). For comparison, as recently as January 2025, the balance was nearly equal — 35% positive expectations versus 34% negative. And in May 2025, a joint Reuters and Ipsos poll showed that 61% of Americans view AI as a direct threat to humanity.
My expert assessment: The data reflects a classic "adoption paradox" — users are actively integrating AI into daily life, but at a collective level, they fear its uncontrolled influence. The market has already passed the point of no return in terms of adoption, but the regulatory and ethical infrastructure lags years behind. For investors, this is a signal: companies that can offer transparent and accountable AI solutions will gain a tremendous competitive advantage amid growing public distrust.