A new poll finds that although Americans don’t like artificial intelligence very much, nearly all use it. The catch? Most don’t realize they’re using it.
A poll by Gallup and tech advocacy group Telescope found that nearly two-thirds of all Americans don’t realize that many of the features of their everyday lives –– social media, online shopping, navigation apps, etc. –– are AI-enabled.
Most Americans believe AI will have a net negative impact on U.S. national security, opportunities for Americans to get good jobs, social connections among people and the spread of false information.
Americans split evenly on whether AI would have a positive, negative or neutral effect on detecting nonviolent crimes. A majority said they expected it to be a positive for medical diagnosis and treatment.
The poll found higher rates of AI usage among younger adults and those with higher incomes. However, while the poll gauged usage of products that include AI, it didn’t specifically ask how many Americans actively used AI tools in those products, such as Apple Intelligence or Meta’s AI search prompts.
The poll also found that by and large, Americans feel both the government and businesses bear responsibility for addressing some of AI’s biggest risks, with some of the broadest support for the government stepping in to address threats to national security that AI might pose.
