Majority of young adults say they are 'more concerned than excited' about AI: Pew Research

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A majority of young adults are now more worried than enthusiastic about the growing role artificial intelligence (AI) has in their daily lives, according to a Pew Research survey released Tuesday.

Among adults ages 18 to 29, 55% said they were more concerned than excited about AI, while just 11% said they felt the reverse.

That marks a sharp shift from 2021, when Pew began tracking Americans’ views on the then-emerging technology.

At the time, only 31% of young adults expressed greater concern than excitement.

This general feeling is now shared by all age groups, with 52% of U.S. adults saying they are more concerned than excited about AI.

The broad AI skepticism largely centers on how it will affect employment, according to Pew's latest poll, which included 3,488 U.S. adults and was conducted from June 22 to June 28.

The vast majority of Americans, 71%, believe AI will lead to fewer jobs in the U.S. over the next two decades.

Just 5% said AI would lead to more jobs over that time period.

Young adults also expressed their belief that AI will stifle creativity and human connection over the long term.

"They largely think it will make connection and creativity harder to come by.

And though most say they use chatbots, they’re just as likely to say these tools hurt their own creativity as help it," the survey's authors wrote.

There is also a growing concern that overuse of AI chatbots among children and teenagers can negatively impact their development, with some cases leading to far more serious outcomes.

Last August, the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine sued OpenAI , alleging that ChatGPT helped their son plan and carry out his suicide.