New study finds most Americans think the pace of AI development is moving too fast and they also don't believe everyone will truly benefit from it

Date:
Wed, 20 May 2026 00:05:00 +0000

Description:
Most Americans are worried about the rapid pace of AI innovation are regulators struggling to keep up now?

FULL STORY
New Economist data sourced from a recent
YouGov poll has revealed nearly three in four (71%) Americans feel AI development is happening too quickly.

The report found US citizens arent just worried about AI itself, but also about whether governments, regulators and society in general can
realistically keep pace with the rapid rate of innovation. In fact, there are twice as many AI pessimists than AI optimists in the US and the sentiment is reflected across all political beliefs, indicating skepticism over the technology and its impacts, rather than how specific governments are responding to regulation.

US citizens arent comfortable with AIs pace of innovation -- Quinnipiac University research also found that a high proportion of Americans (51%) say the pace of AI development is moving faster than they expected.

Concerns span a broad range of the technologys impacts, with citizens worried about economic disruption, misinformation, privacy, social impacts and job displacements.

The data indicates that concern centers around the idea that AI may be better for Big Tech and highly skilled workers, with SMBs and entry-level workers disproportionately hit. As many as two in three (64%) feel that AI wont benefit everybody, compared with 8% believing that its very likely to.

This reflects earlier Economist/YouGov data revealing around two-thirds (63%) of Americans believe that AI would reduce the number of jobs available in the future. Back then, only 35% expressed trust in artificial intelligence.

More than half (55%) of the families surveyed with a combined $50,000 income or less said theyre somewhat or very worried about AI replacing their jobs.

On the jobs front, four in five would also be unwilling to work a job where
an AI agent is their direct boss. Regulation isnt keeping pace The Quinnipiac study also found that 76% of US citizens dont feel that businesses are doing enough to be transparent about AI, while a similar number (74%) feel the government should be doing more to regulate the use of AI.

Americans are not rejecting AI outright, but they are sending a warning, Associate Professor of Business Analytics and Information Systems Tamilla Triantoro wrote. Too much uncertainty, too little trust, too little regulation, and too much fear about jobs.

Separately, Axios revealed an emerging AI hate wave driven by the same fears job losses, concentration of wealth and environmental concerns. As well as national concerns, local opposition has been rising among communities near data center projects, particularly due to high water use, power demand and local infrastructure pressures, all leading to higher utility bills.

President Trump previously responded to this, urging tech giants to pay their own way so that US citizens neednt pick up the tab.

Ultimately, these findings suggest that Americas growing unease with AI is
not out of fear of the technology, but rather the correlation between innovation and regulation.

Looking ahead, capability and performance is no longer the question. Instead, companies must invest in earning trust, even at the cost of innovation, while governments are facing demands to regulate socioeconomic impacts.

Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/new-study-finds-most-americans-think-the-pace-of -ai-development-is-moving-too-fast-and-they-also-dont-believe-everyone-will-tr uly-benefit-from-it

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