How Americans View AI and Its Impact on People and Society (www.pewresearch.org)

Pew Research Center’s June 9–15, 2025 survey of 5,023 U.S. adults finds Americans are broadly wary of AI’s social effects: 50% are more concerned than excited about increased AI use (up from 37% in 2021), 57% rate AI’s societal risks as high versus 25% who rate the benefits as high, and 95% have heard at least a little about AI. Respondents were pessimistic about AI’s impact on core human capacities—53% say AI will worsen creative thinking (16% say it will improve it) and 50% say it will worsen people’s ability to form meaningful relationships (5% say it will improve). Views on problem‑solving were more mixed (29% say AI will help, 38% say it will hurt), and 16–20% were unsure across these questions. The survey also highlights clear preferences about AI’s roles and governance: about six-in-ten want more control over how AI is used in their lives, 76% say it’s important to be able to tell if content was AI‑generated yet 53% lack confidence in detecting it. Americans are open to AI for heavy data tasks—forecasting weather (74%), hunting financial crime (70%), fraud detection (70%), drug development (66%), suspect ID (61%)—but oppose AI in personal domains like matchmaking (≈66% no role) and religious advice (73% no role). Younger adults are more aware of AI but also more likely to see it as harmful to creativity and relationships. Implications: demand for transparency, detection tools, domain‑specific limits, public education, and policy action to manage trust and societal impact.