Growing Public Concern About the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Daily Life (Pew Research, 2023)

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Pew Research Center·pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/08/28/growing-public-con...

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Rating inherited from publication venue: Pew Research Center

Useful empirical reference for AI governance discussions, showing that public concern about AI is rising sharply, which may shape regulatory and policy environments relevant to AI safety efforts.

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Importance: 42/100organizational reportanalysis

Summary

A Pew Research Center survey from August 2023 documenting increasing American public concern about AI's growing role in daily life. The report finds that more Americans are worried than excited about AI, with majorities expressing unease about its use in various applications. It provides empirical baseline data on public attitudes toward AI across demographic groups.

Key Points

•52% of Americans report feeling more concerned than excited about AI in daily life, up from 38% in 2022, indicating rapidly shifting public sentiment.
•Only 10% of Americans say they are more excited than concerned about AI, while 36% feel a mix of both emotions.
•Public concern is especially high around AI use in personal contexts such as hiring decisions, medical diagnoses, and law enforcement.
•The survey highlights demographic differences, with older Americans and women tending to express higher levels of concern about AI.
•Results suggest growing public skepticism that may influence future AI governance and policy discussions.

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US public concern grows over role of AI in daily life | Pew Research Center 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
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 August 28, 2023 
 
 
 

 Growing public concern about the role of artificial intelligence in daily life

 
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 By Alec Tyson and Emma Kikuchi 

 
 A growing share of Americans express concern about the role artificial intelligence (AI) is playing in daily life, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

 How we did this 

 Pew Research Center conducted this study to understand attitudes about artificial intelligence and its uses. For this analysis, we surveyed 11,201 U.S. adults from July 31 to Aug. 6, 2023.

 Everyone who took part in the survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way, nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology .

 Here are the questions used for this analysis , along with responses, and its methodology .

 

 

 Overall, 52% of Americans say they feel more concerned than excited about the increased use of artificial intelligence. Just 10% say they are more excited than concerned, while 36% say they feel an equal mix of these emotions.

 The share of Americans who are mostly concerned about AI in daily life is up 14 percentage points since December 2022, when 38% expressed this view.

 Concern about AI outweighs excitement across all major demographic groups. Still, there are some notable differences, particularly by age. About six-in-ten adults ages 65 and older (61%) are mostly concerned about the growing use of AI in daily life, while 4% are mostly excited. That gap is much smaller among those ages 18 to 29: 42% are more concerned and 17% are more excited.

 Rising awareness, and concern, about AI

 

 The rise in concern about AI has taken place alongside growing public awareness. Nine-in-ten adults have heard either a lot (33%) or a little (56%) about artificial intelligence. The share who have heard a lot about AI is up 7 points since December 2022.

 Those who have heard a lot about AI are 16 points more likely now than they were in December 2022 to express greater concern than excitement about it. Among this most aware group, concern now outweighs excitement by 47% to 15%. In December, this margin was 31% to 23%.

 Similarly, people who have heard a little about AI are 19 points more likely to express concern today than they were in Decembe

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