AI Skepticism Outweighs Excitement in the U.S.

Despite the tech industry’s conviction that the rise of AI is an inflection point that will change the course of humanity, many humans remain skeptic whether the new direction we’re headed in is the right one. The pace at which AI seems to be taking over parts of our lives, whether we like it or not, is especially worrisome to many.

In a recent Statista Consumer Insights survey, 31 percent of U.S. respondents said that they were worried about the speed at which AI is developing and 26 percent of respondents claimed to be avoiding AI wherever they can. 18 percent said they used AI but felt bad about it and another 28 percent simply don’t believe in the hype, saying they weren’t convinced that AI is as good as people say.

At the other end of the spectrum, 28 percent of respondents said they were excited about AI, 18 percent said they liked to use AI for shopping and 14 percent described themselves as early adopters – always keen to try the latest AI features. The bottom line is that Americans are neither all in on AI nor are they fully against it. Many people are mixing their excitement with a dose of skepticism, which is probably a good way of looking at a potentially life-altering technological shift.