People Around the World View AI (www.pewresearch.org)

A spring 2025 Pew survey across 25 countries finds broad awareness of AI but mixed feelings: a median 34% of adults say they’ve heard a lot about AI, 47% a little, and 14% nothing. On balance people are more concerned than excited—median 34% are more concerned, 42% are equally excited and concerned, and just 16% are more excited. Concern is especially high in the U.S., Italy, Australia, Brazil and Greece (about half more concerned), while only 16% in South Korea are mainly concerned. Awareness tracks national wealth: roughly half in Japan, Germany, France and the U.S. have heard a lot about AI, versus 14% in India and 12% in Kenya. Trust in regulators varies sharply. Most trust their own country (e.g., India 89%, Indonesia 74%, Israel 72%), though Greeks (22%) and Americans (44% trust vs. 47% distrust) are exceptions. Globally the EU is the most trusted regulator (median 53%), ahead of the U.S. (37%) and China (27%). Views correlate with politics, age, education and internet use: younger, more educated and near-constant internet users are more aware and more excited; men report higher awareness than women; partisan leanings predict trust (e.g., U.S. Republicans more trusting of U.S. regulation). For the AI/ML community, these patterns underline the need for nuanced public communication and policy engagement—expect uneven adoption, varying regulatory expectations across regions, and a clear link between digital literacy and public sentiment.