The General Public Is a Lot More Worried About AI Than AI Experts

The general public is far more pessimistic about the impact of AI than “AI experts” who work in the field, a new report from the Pew Center reveals.

About 57% of AI experts say AI will have a very or somewhat positive impact on the US over the next 20 years, compared to 17% of the general public. Meanwhile, over 43% of the US public says AI will hurt them rather than benefit them, in contrast to just 24% among experts.

This divide isn’t the only major split when it comes to how AI is perceived. The research also picked up a big disagreement between the male and female experts they surveyed.

Over six in 10 (63%) of the male experts agreed with the statement that AI will have a very or somewhat positive impact on the US over the next two decades; that falls to 36% for women in the cohort. Just under a third of female experts (30%) said that AI made them more excited than concerned, compared to 53% of male experts.

Some areas prompted a lot more fear and pessimism among respondents than others. Only 9% of people in the US feel that AI will have a positive impact on elections, amid widespread concerns about deepfakes, rising to 11% among experts (one of the few questions on which both demographics essentially agreed).

One of the largest splits in the study is on how AI will impact work. Only 23% of Americans predict AI will have a positive impact on how people do their jobs, compared to 73% of AI experts.

Still, there are areas where large chunks of the US public are fairly optimistic about the impact of AI, such as in healthcare. As tech giants like Apple may be preparing to pivot toward AI-based medicine, about 44% of the US public say that AI will have a positive impact on health care, which rises to 84% among experts.

It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that the general public has concerns about the rise of AI. Some of the world’s most famous people have been openly discussing the issue for years.

Last month, Bill Gates said humans won’t be needed for “most things” in the coming age of AI, highlighting fields like medicine, teaching, and mental health as ripe for disruption. Meanwhile, singer Paul McCartney has warned that an incorrect approach to AI and creative industries could lead to lost livelihoods for musicians and other creators.

The Pew Center surveyed about 5,400 adults to get its findings, including just over 1,000 experts, who had all spoken or presented at AI conferences in the past.

About Will McCurdy

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I’m a reporter covering weekend news. Before joining PCMag in 2024, I picked up bylines in BBC News, The Guardian, The Times of London, The Daily Beast, Vice, Slate, Fast Company, The Evening Standard, The i, TechRadar, and Decrypt Media.

I’ve been a PC gamer since you had to install games from multiple CD-ROMs by hand. As a reporter, I’m passionate about the intersection of tech and human lives. I’ve covered everything from crypto scandals to the art world, as well as conspiracy theories, UK politics, and Russia and foreign affairs.

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