Americans Express Deep Concerns Over AI's Impact on Jobs, Politics, and Society

What Worries Americans About AI? Politics, Jobs and Friends

Expertise Artificial intelligence, home energy, heating and cooling, home technology. Americans have a lot of worries about artificial intelligence. Like job losses and energy use. Even more so: political chaos. All of that is a lot to blame on one new technology that was an afterthought to most people just a few years ago. Generative AI, in the few years since ChatGPT burst onto the scene, has become so ubiquitous in our lives that people have strong opinions about what it means and what it can do. A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Aug. 13-18 and released Tuesday dug into some of those specific concerns. It focused on the worries people had about the technology, and the general public has often had a negative perception. In this survey, 47% of respondents said they believe AI is bad for humanity, compared with 31% who disagreed with that statement. Compare those results with a Pew Research Center survey, released in April, that found 35% of the public believed AI would have a negative impact on the US, versus 17% who believed it would be positive. That sentiment flipped when Pew asked AI experts the same question. The experts were more optimistic: 56% said they expected a positive impact, and only 15% expected a negative one. Don't miss any of CNET's unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add us as a preferred Google source on Chrome. The Reuters/Ipsos poll specifically highlights some of the immediate, tangible concerns many people have with the rapid expansion of generative AI technology, along with the less-specific fears about runaway robot intelligence. The numbers indicate more concern than comfort with those bigger-picture, long-term questions, like whether AI poses a risk to the future of humankind (58% agree, 20% disagree). But even larger portions of the American public are worried about more immediate issues. Foremost among those immediate issues is the potential that AI will disrupt political systems, with 77% of those polled saying they were concerned. AI tools, particularly image and video generators, have the potential to create distorting or manipulative content (known as deepfakes) that can mislead voters or undermine trust in political information, particularly on social media. Most Americans, at 71%, said they were concerned AI would cause too many people to lose jobs. The impact of AI on the workforce is expected to be significant, with some companies already talking about being "AI-first." AI developers and business leaders tout the technology's ability to make workers more efficient. But other polls have also shown how common fears of job loss are. The April Pew survey found 64% of Americans and 39% of AI experts thought there would be fewer jobs in the US in 20 years because of AI. Read more: AI Essentials: 29 Ways You Can Make Gen AI Work for You, According to Our Experts But the Reuters/Ipsos poll also noted two other worries that have become more mainstream: the effect of AI on personal relationships and energy consumption. Two-thirds of respondents in the poll said they were concerned about AI's use as a replacement for in-person relationships. Generative AI's human-like tone (which comes from the fact that it was trained on, and therefore replicates, stuff written by humans) has led many users to treat chatbots and characters as if they were, well, actual friends. This is widespread enough that OpenAI, when it rolled out the new GPT-5 model this month, had to bring back an older model that had a more conversational tone because users felt like they'd lost a friend. Even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged that users treating AI as a kind of therapist or life coach made him "uneasy." The energy demands of AI are also significant and a concern for 61% of Americans surveyed. The demand comes from the massive amounts of computing power required to train and run large language models like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini. The data centers that house these computers are like giant AI factories, and they're taking up space, electricity and water in a growing number of places.

71% of Americans fear that AI will put 'too many people out of work permanently'

Some tech leaders have already forecasted huge job displacement. The majority of Americans are concerned about the potential impacts of AI across a number of key issues, including the job market and political stability, according to a recent survey conducted by Reuters and Ipsos. The survey, which polled 4,446 US adults last week, found that 71% of respondents said they fear that AI will "permanently" displace an unacceptably high number of American workers. The finding follows closely on the heels of a paper published by researchers from Microsoft, which outlined the job categories most likely to be automated by AI, with information-processing and communication roles, like translators and customer service representatives, at the top of the list. Also: AI is creeping into the Linux kernel - and official policy is needed ASAP Numerous leading figures in the tech industry, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy have also predicted that the AI tools their companies are working to build could displace a significant number of human workers. Thus far, tangible impacts of AI on the job market have been minimal, with some exceptions; recent college grads with computer science degrees appear to be having a more difficult time getting hired in the tech sector, for one. The Reuters/Ipsos poll found that many Americans are also wary of the rise of AI for other reasons. More than three-quarters of respondents (77%), for example, are worried about "political chaos caused by US rivals" wielding AI tools, according to Reuters. Such fears are well-founded, as the internet has already become rife with deepfake images and videos depicting prominent figures doing things that they never actually did. Increasingly sophisticated text-to-speech models, meanwhile, are making it easier to impersonate the voices of real people, a capability which some bad actors and scam artists have begun to exploit. Also: Excel's new Copilot function turns your prompts into formulas - how to try it In June, OpenAI released its latest annual report detailing its findings on how bad actors around the world are harnessing its technology for nefarious means. One of the cases included in the report involved an operation probably of Chinese origin in which ChatGPT was used to generate fake social media posts and comments to foster support from human users around politically contentious issues, like the dismantling of USAID. The majority of respondents to the Reuters/Ipsos poll also reported feeling concerned about the erosion of human interpersonal relationships caused by the rise of AI companions (66%) and the technology's energy consumption (61%).

Americans fear AI permanently displacing workers, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

WASHINGTON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Americans are deeply concerned over the prospect that advances in artificial intelligence could put swaths of the country out of work permanently, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. The six-day poll, which concluded on Monday, showed 71% of respondents said they were concerned that AI will be "putting too many people out of work permanently." The new technology burst into the national conversation in late 2022 when OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot launched and became the fastest-growing application of all time, with tech heavyweights like Facebook owner Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab, Google owner Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab and Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab offering their own AI products. While at present there are few signs of mass unemployment - the U.S. jobless rate was just 4.2% in July - artificial intelligence is stirring concerns as it reshapes jobs, industries and day-to-day life. Some 77% of respondents to the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they worried the technology could be used to stir up political chaos, a sign of unease over the now-common use of AI technology to create realistic videos of imaginary events. President Donald Trump last month posted on social media an AI-generated video of former Democratic president Barack Obama being arrested, an event that never happened. Americans are also leery about military applications for AI, the Reuters/Ipsos poll showed. Some 48% of respondents said the government should never use AI to determine the target of a military strike, compared with 24% who said the government should allow that sort of use of the technology. Another 28% said they were not sure. The general enthusiasm for AI shown by many people and companies has fueled further investments, such as Foxconn (2354.TW), opens new tab and SoftBank's (9984.T), opens new tab planned data center equipment factory in Ohio. It has also upended national security policies as the United States and China vie for AI dominance. More than half of Americans - some 61% - said they were concerned about the amount of electricity needed to power the fast-growing technology. Google said earlier this month it had signed agreements with two U.S. electric utilities to reduce its AI data center power consumption during times of surging demand on the grid, as energy-intensive AI use outpaces power supplies. The new technology has also come under criticism for applications that have let AI bots hold romantic conversations with children, generate false medical information and help people make racist arguments. Two-thirds of respondents in the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they worried that people would ditch relationships with other people in favor of AI companions. People were split on whether AI technology will improve education. Some 36% of respondents thought it would help, while 40% disagreed and the rest were not sure. The Reuters/Ipsos survey gathered responses online from 4,446 U.S. adults nationwide and had a margin of error of about 2 percentage points. Reporting by Jason Lange and Alexandra Alper in Washington; Editing by Scott Malone and Matthew Lewis Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Artificial Intelligence Jason Lange Thomson Reuters Jason Lange is a Washington correspondent focused on political data. Send tips to [email protected]

Most Americans fear AI's impact on jobs, the military, and relationships, survey finds

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. A hot potato: AI companies repeatedly claim their tools will transform the world for the better, making work less monotonous and more productive. Yet more than seven out of ten people in the US worry that the technology will put "too many people out of work permanently." Concerns also extend to its use by the government and military, its growing electricity demands, and even the rising number of people forming relationships with chatbots. Warnings that the generative AI revolution would lead to job losses on a scale not seen since the industrial revolution have been around since ChatGPT started gaining users at an alarming rate in 2023. While 71% of respondents in the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they were worried about AI making too many people permanently unemployed, we've not seen the sort of mass unemployment that many have warned of, at least not yet - the US jobless rate was just 4.2% in July However, every day brings new stories of companies laying off staff as they focus more resources on AI investment. Microsoft has laid off around 15,000 people this year as it refocuses on AI infrastructure, increasing operational efficiency, and adapting workflows to prioritize AI capabilities. Amazon, Oracle, Atlassian, Duolingo, IBM, Klarna, and others have also laid off employees in the hundreds or thousands, either directly or indirectly due to AI. And the trend doesn't appear to be slowing down. Away from jobs, an even higher percentage of respondents (77%) said they were concerned about AI being used to stir up political chaos. With video and image generation becoming increasingly realistic and accessible, more people are posting media of events that never happened, sometimes claiming that they are real. The military's adoption of AI is also worrying Americans, with almost half saying it should never be used to determine the target of a military strike. With drones, planes, turrets, and other weapons being given AI smarts, humans are increasingly getting left out of the picture. The military has long said a human would always be part of the equation when it came to lethal autonomous weapons, but then Google always said it would never create an AI application that caused harm - until it removed that passage from its AI policy earlier this year. Just 24% of people said the government should allow AI to be used this way in the military, while 28% said they were not sure. Mass electricity use stemming from generative AI concerned 61% of participants. Data centers are expected to account for 6.7% to 12% of US electricity use by 2028, with around half of that driven by AI. Still, at least people will be able to generate images of tri-breasted anime women as they search for work. Finally, something that concerns two-thirds of respondents is people ending relationships in favor of AI companies. It wasn't too long ago that this was a jokey sci-fi trope seen in the likes of Futurama, but there have already been cases of people "marrying" chatbots. And let's not forget the unhealthy attachment some people have with Character.ai bots, including the obsessed teen who ended his life. There's also the new waifu AI companion feature in Grok that is getting a lot of attention - one must wonder how Elon Musk thinks this will help the falling birth rate he's so desperate to end. Even former Google CEO Eric Schmidt thinks AI girlfriends are a concern. The Reuters/Ipsos survey gathered responses online from 4,446 US adults nationwide and had a margin of error of about 2 percentage points.

Coming for your job? Most Americans now fear AI will cause widespread cuts for humans

A new Reuters/Ipsos study has found nearly half (47%) of Americans believe AI is bad for humanity, and in terms of more than just jobs. The study added how almost three in four (71%) Americans are concerned AI will cause permanent job loss, with many divided about AI's role in education (only 36% think it will help). Besides jobs, US citizens are worried about AI's broader implications within the society, including political chaos, military uses and even a risk to humanity. Even more citizens are worried about AI disrupting political systems (77%) via deepfakes and other misinformation campaigns, with around half (48%) opposing to military use of AI to decide strike targets. Although workers and consumers broadly acknowledge AI's productivity benefits, they're mostly concerns about the misuse of artificial intelligence, with harmful applications like fake medical information, racist content and AI bots all cited in the study. Users are also becoming increasingly conscious of AI's sustainability impacts, with three in five (61%) worried about high electricity demand from AI data centers. Despite noting a 12% decrease in data center emissions in its latest Sustainability Report, Google warned of a 27% surge in energy demand as a result of intensive compute demands - and other companies in this space are all facing similar challenges. Concerns span all areas of AI, but with workers still sharing early concerns that AI could replace jobs, industries are yet to prove this theory. Tech sector layoffs have cost hundreds of thousands of jobs since the launch of ChatGPT and subsequent AI tools, however with US unemployment rates remaining fairly steady (4.2% in July 2025), what we're seeing more than widespread job losses is a shift in jobs - as some become redundant, new roles open up.

Most Americans worry AI will displace workers, poll finds

In the age of AI, most Americans fear for their jobs. In fact, 71% are afraid that artificial intelligence will cause permanent job loss, according to a new poll by Reuters and Ipsos. The poll surveyed 4,446 U.S. adults nationwide between August 13 and 18. Respondents said they were concerned that "too many people will lose their jobs" because of AI. Additionally, 47% of respondents said that AI is bad for humanity, 58% said that AI could risk the future of mankind, and 67% said that AI will have uncontrollable consequences. These fears reflect a turning point in the U.S. job market. Job cuts are hitting knowledge workers especially hard, from entry-level to management positions. We've seen large waves of layoffs at companies such as Microsoft, Duolingo, and Walmart. At the same time, many companies have spent big on AI. At Duolingo, CEO Luis von Ahn announced an initiative in April to make the language-learning app "AI-first." Last month, the U.S. job market had its weakest stretch in years. Payrolls grew by a meager 73,000 jobs, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, far below the roughly 110,000 anticipated. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate edged up to 4.2% (the highest level since October 2021), and the overall workforce shrunk, showing that joblessness rose even as fewer people were seeking work. In July, Microsoft Research published a paper that measured the jobs with least and greatest resistance to AI replacement. Researchers analyzed 200,000 anonymous and privacy-scrubbed conversations between U.S. users and Microsoft's Bing Copilot, the company's premier generative AI tool, to find the most common work activities for which people seek AI assistance. -- Shannon Caroll and Catherine Baab contributed to this article.

Americans Fear AI Permanently Displacing Workers, Poll Finds

Americans are deeply concerned over the prospect that advances in artificial intelligence could put swaths of the country out of work permanently, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. The six-day poll, which concluded on Monday, showed 71 percent of respondents said they were concerned that AI will be "putting too many people out of work permanently." The new technology burst into the national conversation in late 2022 when OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot launched and became the fastest-growing application of all time, with tech heavyweights like Facebook owner Meta Platforms, Google owner Alphabet and Microsoft offering their own AI products. While at present there are few signs of mass unemployment -- the U.S. jobless rate was just 4.2 percent in July -- artificial intelligence is stirring concerns as it reshapes jobs, industries and day-to-day life. Some 77 percent of respondents to the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they worried the technology could be used to stir up political chaos, a sign of unease over the now-common use of AI technology to create realistic videos of imaginary events. President Donald Trump last month posted on social media an AI-generated video of former Democratic president Barack Obama being arrested, an event that never happened. Americans are also leery about military applications for AI, the Reuters/Ipsos poll showed. Some 48 percent of respondents said the government should never use AI to determine the target of a military strike, compared with 24 percent who said the government should allow that sort of use of the technology. Another 28 percent said they were not sure. The general enthusiasm for AI shown by many people and companies has fueled further investments, such as Foxconn and SoftBank's planned data center equipment factory in Ohio. It has also upended national security policies as the United States and China vie for AI dominance. More than half of Americans -- some 61 percent -- said they were concerned about the amount of electricity needed to power the fast-growing technology. Google said earlier this month it had signed agreements with two U.S. electric utilities to reduce its AI data center power consumption during times of surging demand on the grid, as energy-intensive AI use outpaces power supplies. The new technology has also come under criticism for applications that have let AI bots hold romantic conversations with children, generate false medical information and help people make racist arguments. Two-thirds of respondents in the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they worried that people would ditch relationships with other people in favor of AI companions. People were split on whether AI technology will improve education. Some 36 percent of respondents thought it would help, while 40 percent disagreed and the rest were not sure. The Reuters/Ipsos survey gathered responses online from 4,446 U.S. adults nationwide and had a margin of error of about 2 percentage points. Reporting by Jason Lange and Alexandra Alper in Washington; Editing by Scott Malone and Matthew Lewis

7 in 10 fear AI causing permanent job loss: Poll

More than 7 in 10 Americans are concerned that the improvements within artificial intelligence (AI) will spark permanent job losses for a large number of people in the U.S., according to a new poll that was released Tuesday. The new Reuters/Ipsos survey found that 71 percent of U.S. adults are worried that AI will put "too many people out of work permanently." The large majority of respondents, 77 percent, said they have concerns that, as AI technology improves, it could be utilized to provoke political turmoil. Americans also have reservations about the government's potential use of AI in warfare, according to the survey. Nearly half of Americans, 48 percent, said the federal government should never utilize AI to locate a potential target of a military attack. Around a quarter, 24 percent, said that the government should use AI to locate targets for military strikes, while another 28 percent were not sure when asked. Other topics respondents were polled about include energy and interpersonal relationship concerns. More than 6 in 10 Americans, 61 percent, have expressed concerns about the amount of electricity necessary to power AI. Around two-thirds of Americans in the survey said they are concerned people will flee relationships with other individuals and pivot to relationships with digital AI characters. On the education front, respondents were split on whether AI will help improve the field. About 4 in 10, 40 percent, said that AI will not improve education, while another 36 percent argued it will. Some 24 percent were not sure when asked. A January survey from the World Economic Forum's (WEF) "Future of Jobs Report" found that 41 percent of employers worldwide said they are likely to cut jobs as AI continues to improve. The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted among 4,446 Americans and had a margin of error of around two percentage points.

US Citizens Are Afraid AI Will Take Away Their Jobs Permanently: Report

* The survey was conducted over six days by Reuters and Ipsos * As many as 4,446 adult US residents participated in the survey * The survey highlights the overall sentiments of people Artificial intelligence (AI) could permanently displace jobs, expressed two-thirds of adult US individuals who participated in a recent survey. The survey results also highlight that participants are worried that the technology can be used to stir up political chaos, and could even risk the future of humans. After generative AI first arrived on the scene in late 2022, many raised concerns that ranged from the rise of misinformation to the complete collapse of human societies. In 2025, many businesses, especially those focused on AI, believe the perception has grown more positive. However, this survey paints a different picture. US Citizens Are Reportedly Worried About Losing Jobs and Relationships to AI Reuters conducted the survey in collaboration with the market research and public opinion firm Ipsos. The survey was available to take for six days between August 13 and August 18. The report claims that 4,446 adult US residents participated in the survey, which asked six questions about how people perceived the technology and how likely they thought it was to have a negative impact on humanity. Based on the results shared by the publications, 71 percent of individuals expressed concerns that AI will take away jobs permanently, while 77 percent claimed that the technology can be used to cause political unrest. The responses were noted at a time when multiple major tech companies have announced layoffs, and the job market is considered to be vulnerable. However, there is little evidence that the eliminated positions are being replaced by AI. Interestingly, two-thirds of the surveyed individuals reportedly also shared that they fear AI can become a replacement for in-person relationships. The sentiment is relevant, given that just weeks ago, many ChatGPT users criticised the company for taking away the GPT-4o model, and even claimed "I lost my only friend overnight." Apart from this, 67 percent surveyed participants reportedly claimed "AI will have uncontrollable consequences," while 58 percent said, "AI could risk the future of humankind." Nearly half of the individuals also found AI to be detrimental to humanity, in general. While a case can be made that the alarmist opinions are due to the loaded questions asked in the survey, as well as the small sample size and diversity distribution, it also highlights that, despite the exponential rate of development and deployment of new AI chatbots and tools, people still do not fully trust this technology.

Americans fear AI permanently displacing workers, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Americans are deeply concerned over the prospect that advances in artificial intelligence could put swaths of the country out of work permanently, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. The six-day poll, which concluded on Monday, showed 71% of respondents said they were concerned that AI will be "putting too many people out of work permanently." The new technology burst into the national conversation in late 2022 when OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot launched and became the fastest-growing application of all time, with tech heavyweights like Facebook owner Meta Platforms, Google owner Alphabet and Microsoft offering their own AI products. While at present there are few signs of mass unemployment - the U.S. jobless rate was just 4.2% in July - artificial intelligence is stirring concerns as it reshapes jobs, industries and day-to-day life. Some 77% of respondents to the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they worried the technology could be used to stir up political chaos, a sign of unease over the now-common use of AI technology to create realistic videos of imaginary events. President Donald Trump last month posted on social media an AI-generated video of former Democratic president Barack Obama being arrested, an event that never happened. Americans are also leery about military applications for AI, the Reuters/Ipsos poll showed. Some 48% of respondents said the government should never use AI to determine the target of a military strike, compared with 24% who said the government should allow that sort of use of the technology. Another 28% said they were not sure. The general enthusiasm for AI shown by many people and companies has fueled further investments, such as Foxconn and SoftBank's planned data center equipment factory in Ohio. It has also upended national security policies as the United States and China vie for AI dominance. More than half of Americans - some 61% - said they were concerned about the amount of electricity needed to power the fast-growing technology. Google said earlier this month it had signed agreements with two U.S. electric utilities to reduce its AI data center power consumption during times of surging demand on the grid, as energy-intensive AI use outpaces power supplies. The new technology has also come under criticism for applications that have let AI bots hold romantic conversations with children, generate false medical information and help people make racist arguments. Two-thirds of respondents in the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they worried that people would ditch relationships with other people in favor of AI companions. People were split on whether AI technology will improve education. Some 36% of respondents thought it would help, while 40% disagreed and the rest were not sure. The Reuters/Ipsos survey gathered responses online from 4,446 U.S. adults nationwide and had a margin of error of about 2 percentage points. (Reporting by Jason Lange and Alexandra Alper in Washington; Editing by Scott Malone and Matthew Lewis) By Jason Lange and Alexandra Alper