A sweeping international study released by Pew Research has found that public apprehension about artificial intelligence is broad and deeply rooted, particularly when it comes to employment and economic fairness. The survey, which gathered responses from 42,151 people across 37 countries between February 8 and May 13, reveals that in 34 of those nations, a larger share of the public believes AI will destroy more jobs than it creates over the next two decades.
The findings, detailed in an article by Thomas Ricker, paint a portrait of a global public that is neither uniformly hostile to AI nor naively optimistic about it. Instead, the data show a wary and watchful world, with concerns about job displacement and income inequality cutting across borders and demographic lines.
Job Loss Fears Dominate in Most Countries
The most striking result from the Pew Research survey is the near-universal expectation of labor market disruption. In 34 of the 37 countries surveyed, more respondents said AI would lead to job losses than said it would create new employment opportunities. The question asked people to consider the impact over the next 20 years, a time horizon long enough to encompass both gradual automation and more abrupt technological shifts.
Worries were especially pronounced in several major economies. In Australia and South Korea, 76 percent of respondents expressed concern that AI would eliminate jobs. In the United States, 71 percent held that view. These figures suggest that even in countries with robust technology sectors and high levels of digital adoption, the public remains uneasy about AI’s effect on workers.
Inequality Concerns Cut Across Borders
Beyond job losses, the Pew Research survey found that respondents were even more likely to say AI would widen the gap between rich and poor. This belief was most common in wealthier, left-leaning countries, where concerns about economic fairness and the distribution of technological benefits appear to be particularly acute.
The finding adds a second dimension to public anxiety: it is not only that people fear losing their own jobs, but also that they expect the gains from AI to flow disproportionately to those already advantaged. That perception could shape political and regulatory responses to AI in the years ahead, though the survey did not measure specific policy preferences.
Age Divides: Older Adults More Concerned About Daily Life
The survey also uncovered a clear generational split in how people view AI’s impact on daily life. Older respondents were more likely than younger ones to express concern about how AI would affect their everyday experiences. This may reflect a broader discomfort with rapid technological change or a sense that older adults have less opportunity to adapt.
Younger adults, defined in the survey as those ages 18 to 34, reported more mixed feelings. They were not uniformly enthusiastic, nor uniformly fearful. Instead, their responses suggested a complex blend of curiosity and apprehension, a recognition that AI might bring both benefits and disruptions.
Younger Adults Growing More Anxious
One of the most notable trends in the Pew Research data is a sharp rise in anxiety among younger adults over the past year. In several countries, including Sweden, Poland, Japan, Australia, Brazil, and the United States, concern among 18- to 34-year-olds increased markedly.
In the United States and Sweden, younger adults are now more worried about AI than older adults, a reversal of the pattern seen in earlier surveys. This shift suggests that as AI tools become more visible in workplaces and daily life, younger people, who may feel most exposed to labor market disruptions, are becoming increasingly wary.
A Global Mix of Concern and Excitement
Despite the prevalence of negative expectations, the Pew Research survey does not depict a world uniformly opposed to AI. When asked whether they were primarily concerned or primarily excited about AI, the global median showed 41 percent saying they felt equally concerned and excited. Another 37 percent said they were primarily concerned, while 13 percent said they were primarily excited.
These numbers indicate that a plurality of people around the world hold ambivalent views, seeing both promise and peril. The remaining share is split between those who lean negative and those who lean positive, with the concerned outnumbering the excited by a substantial margin.
Context: Warnings From AI Leaders
The Pew Research survey was conducted before a series of recent apocalyptic warnings about AI from industry leaders. One such warning came from Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, who has said that AI could eliminate half of entry-level white-collar jobs. That statement, made outside the survey period, has been cited as context for the job loss fears that the Pew data reveal.
While the survey itself did not ask about Amodei’s warning or any specific prediction, its findings suggest that the public was already inclined to expect significant labor market disruption even before such high-profile alarms were sounded. The timing of the survey, from February 8 to May 13, places it before the most recent wave of dire pronouncements, making its results a baseline of pre-existing anxiety rather than a reaction to any single statement.
What the Numbers Say About Global Sentiment
Taken together, the Pew Research findings describe a global public that is broadly skeptical of AI’s economic effects but not uniformly hostile to the technology itself. Majorities in most countries expect job losses, and many expect inequality to worsen. Older adults worry more about daily life impacts, while younger adults, once more optimistic, are growing more anxious.
The survey’s scale, covering 42,151 people in 37 countries, gives it unusual weight as a snapshot of global opinion. It captures a moment when AI was already a source of widespread concern, even before the most recent round of warnings from technology leaders. The data suggest that public anxiety about AI is not a passing phenomenon but a durable feature of the global conversation about the technology’s future.
