Americans concerned over AI amid cost-of-living crisis – poll

Nearly 80% fear the government has no plan as tech firms cut workers while pocketing the profits from automation

Americans increasingly view artificial intelligence as a threat to their livelihoods and believe the government should prioritize protecting workers over maximizing tech industry profits, polling data published by Blue Rose Research has indicated. 

The survey, conducted earlier this month with 2,716 respondents, found that 61% say their lives have become less affordable over the past year, while only 25% feel confident about their financial future. Some 64% said “things in America are rigged for the elite.”  

Anxiety about AI has surged faster than any other issue over the past year, according to the poll, with 57% saying the technology is advancing “too fast” and 79% concerned the government has no plan to protect workers from job losses.  

For many, the fears have shifted from a personal concern to a societal risk, with 79% worrying that young people entering the workforce will find fewer opportunities due to AI, and 77% fearing that entire industries will be eliminated faster than new ones can be created.  

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Meanwhile, 58% of respondents demanded the government prioritize helping workers who have lost jobs to AI, even if it limits tech company profits. Just 20% support prioritizing innovation if it eliminates US jobs while more than half said tech companies should be held financially responsible for the jobs eliminated by AI.  

The polling comes as total layoff announcements in the US reached nearly 1.2 million last year, the highest annual total since 2020. AI and automation were cited as the direct reason in thousands of cases, including at major companies such as Amazon, Walmart, Microsoft, Alphabet, Intel, and UPS.  

Last year, US Senator Bernie Sanders predicted that nearly 100 million jobs could be wiped out in the US due to artificial intelligence over the next decade, affecting both white- and blue-collar professions.  

Sanders has argued that the technology is being leveraged primarily to increase corporate profits and concentrate wealth, citing executives who have announced significant investments in automation concurrently with mass layoffs and other cost-cutting measures.