Is AI Enthusiasm Already Waning? Young Adults Are Increasingly Wary of AI Use
The increased use of artificial intelligence (AI) in Americans’ daily lives is starting to drive more concern than excitement.
Fifty-two percent of U.S. adults surveyed by the Pew Research Center said they are now more concerned than excited about the increased use of AI in daily life, up from 37 percent in 2021 and 50 percent in 2025. Only 9 percent said they are more excited than concerned; 37 percent said they are equally excited and concerned.
Young Americans—those under 30 years old—are increasingly skeptical of AI. For the first time, a majority of this age group (55 percent) say they are more concerned than excited about AI, up from 31 percent in 2021. Those who are more excited than concerned dropped from 25 percent in 2021 to 11 percent today. The change puts this group on par with those in their 30s and 40s, as well as those 65 and up, for AI concern, Pew reported.
Job loss is a top reason for the concern. Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults think AI will lead to fewer jobs in the United States in the next 20 years, up from 64 percent in 2024. Only 5 percent said AI will lead to more jobs. Younger adults are now just as likely as older ones to hold this view.
“Young adults aren’t the only ones concerned about AI’s increasing use in daily life, or about job loss,” Pew Research Center said. “Still, our past work shows they stand out in other ways.
“Adults under 30 are most likely to think AI will be bad for society—and for them. They largely think it will make connection and creativity harder to come by,” Pew continued. “And though most say they use chatbots, they’re just as likely to say these tools hurt their own creativity as help it.”
In June, Pew released research that found young adults are most likely to think AI will be negative for them specifically (around 40 percent, compared to around 30 percent in other age groups). More Americans overall predicted AI will be bad for society, rather than good (40 percent versus 16 percent) over the next 20 years.
Women were more likely to view AI negatively than men, with 33 percent believing AI will have a more negative impact on them personally in the next 20 years than a positive one (17 percent). Men are more evenly split, with 27 percent saying AI will have a negative impact on them and 29 percent saying it will have a positive effect for them. Forty-three percent of women also said they expect AI will negatively affect society, compared to 26 percent of men.
Americans largely believe AI is moving too fast (63 percent), compared to just 2 percent who believe it’s moving too slowly. In addition, 71 percent said the increased use of AI will make their personal information less secure. Just 3 percent said AI will make their information more secure, with an extra 10 and 16 percent believing it won’t make a difference or they aren’t sure, respectively.
Corporations are in for some criticism, too. Six in 10 U.S. adults are leery of AI developers’ ability to create and use the tools responsibly.
U.S. adults are also skeptical of the government’s ability to effectively address AI risk. Two-thirds have little to no confidence that the U.S. government will regulate AI effectively. The mistrust is bipartisan; both Democrats and Republicans aren’t confident in government regulation of AI, at 74 and 61 percent respectively.
