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5 Americas of AI Concern

The Full Picture

Every chart from our nationally representative survey of 2,735 Americans, native interactive visualizations.

In February 2026, we surveyed 2,735 American adults about artificial intelligence alongside seven other national issues: the economy, healthcare, housing, climate change, crime, terrorism, and immigration. Seventy-three percent reported being at least somewhat concerned about AI, placing it alongside climate change and above immigration in overall concern. What distinguishes AI from these other issues is how little concern varies by political party: the partisan gap is 13 points (79% of Democrats, 65% of Republicans), compared to 32 points on immigration and 50 points on climate change. AI concern is, for now, a rare area of bipartisan agreement.

Overall AI Concern

How concerned are Americans about AI as a national issue? Our survey of 2,735 nationally representative adults reveals the baseline, and how AI compares to seven other issues.

Concern level by issue, all respondentsExtremely concernedVery concernedSomewhat concernedNot too concernedNot at all concerned0%25%50%75%100%38%36%20%The economy and jobsn=2,73542%32%19%Healthcaren=2,73538%33%20%7%Housing costsn=2,73531%24%20%12%13%Climate changen=2,73521%29%32%15%Crime and public safetyn=2,73521%27%33%15%Terrorism and warn=2,73520%22%31%19%7%Artificial intelligencen=2,73573% concerned (n=2,008) → main survey sample20%21%24%21%13%Immigrationn=2,735
AI concern by age group% concernedOverall (73%)0%20%40%60%80%82%18-2974%65+72%30-4469%45-64

AI Salience

Beyond concern levels, how important do Americans consider AI as an issue compared to other national priorities? AI ranks dead last, only 16% place it in their top three.

% ranking issue in their top 30%20%40%60%80%70%The economy and jobs62%Healthcare44%Housing costs31%Crime and public safety32%Climate change22%Terrorism and War23%Immigration16%Artificial intelligence

What People Worry About

Americans agree AI is worrying, but not about what. Misinformation and job losses dominate. Extinction ranks last. The colored dots show the partisan gap: blue for Democrats, red for Republicans.

Top 3 AI concerns — ranked by priority (Q3b)OverallDemRep0%10%20%30%40%50%47%Misinformation and deepfakes46%Job losses and economic disruption29%Privacy and surveillance24%Environmental impact24%Children and education22%Cybercrime and scams21%Large-scale harm (bio/cyber)15%AI mistakes in critical decisions15%Concentration of power13%AI in weapons and warfare10%Creative and intellectual property theft8%Human extinction8%AI developing conflicting goals7%Bias and discrimination

AI Usage & Familiarity

The more people use AI, the less they fear it. Among daily users, only 32% say they're "more concerned than excited," compared to 64% of non-users. But even power users aren't carefree, just 1 in 5 is more excited than concerned.

Excitement vs concern, by AI usage frequency (5 tiers)More excited than concernedEqually concerned and excitedMore concerned than excited0%25%50%75%100%5%27%64%Nevern=63033%59%Once a Weekn=27313%37%49%2-6 times a weekn=33716%35%48%Every dayn=16021%46%32%Multiple times every dayn=189

Attitudes & Beliefs

A comprehensive view of how concerned Americans think about AI's impact, on themselves, on future generations, on trust in institutions, and on the need for regulation.

How much will AI negatively affect...Not at allNot too muchSomeA moderate amountA great deal0%25%50%75%100%23%35%26%11%Personal impactn=2,00015%28%51%Future generationsn=2,000

The Trust Deficit

Across every demographic group, only a small minority expresses even moderate trust in AI companies or government to handle AI responsibly. The overwhelming majority falls on the "not very much" or "not at all" end of the scale. This institutional trust gap has direct implications for governance: the public wants regulation but does not trust the institutions most likely to deliver it.

Trust to handle AI responsiblyNot at allNot very muchSomewhatA great deal0%25%50%75%100%37%36%23%Tech companiesn=2,00035%39%22%Governmentn=2,000
Every group would rather pause AI than keep the status quoLess regulationAbout rightStronger oversightPause developmentDon't know6%53%33%7%Overall57%33%5%Democrat11%50%28%8%Republican6%52%33%7%Independent

Message Effectiveness

Which pro-safety messages resonate? We tested nine messages across the full concerned sample. "Children & Family" and "Technical Safety" led. Existential risk framings performed worst, and were most likely to be perceived as alarmist.

% finding each message "very convincing"0%10%20%30%40%50%60%59%Children & Family55%Technical Safety52%Democratic Control52%Jobs & Economic47%Consumer Protection46%Mainstream Regulation30%Existential Risk29%US Competitiveness (Counter)20%Existential Risk (Pause)
How respondents perceived each message's toneRealisticAlarmistExaggeratedDismissiveNot Sure0%25%50%75%100%78%9%6%Technical Safetyn=1,99978%6%8%Democratic Controln=1,99978%6%9%Mainstream Regulationn=1,99977%13%6%Children & Familyn=1,99975%10%9%Jobs & Economicn=1,99857%23%16%Consumer Protectionn=1,99944%21%19%11%US Competitiveness (Counter)n=1,99841%31%21%5%Existential Riskn=1,99922%43%30%Existential Risk (Pause)n=1,999
Emotional response after reading each messageMore worried about AINo changeLess worried about AI0%25%50%75%100%58%41%Children & Familyn=1,99946%51%Jobs & Economicn=1,99844%53%Existential Riskn=1,99943%54%US Competitiveness (Counter)n=1,99839%58%Existential Risk (Pause)n=1,99929%66%Democratic Controln=1,99920%73%7%Mainstream Regulationn=1,999

The Universal Message

Of the nine AI safety messages tested, one reached a majority of every segment. The children and family frame was rated "very convincing" by 53-76% across all five groups, making it the only message with majority support in every segment of the concerned public.

Children & Family: the one message that reaches every group% rating the message "very convincing"0%20%40%60%80%Sample avg: 65%76%Alarm Maximalists69%Progressive Alarmed64%X-Risk Literate64%Cautious Moderate53%Trusting Pragmatists

Safety Over Speed

When framed as a direct tradeoff with Chinese competition, 80% of concerned respondents still chose safety rules over development speed. The preference held across every segment and every political party, including 68% of Republicans. More respondents favored a pause than endorsed the status quo.

Safety over speed, even against China"Should the government prioritize safety rules or develop AI as fast as possible to compete with China?"Prioritize safetyNot surePrioritize speed94%Progressive Alarmed90%Alarm Maximalists78%8%Cautious Moderate75%17%X-Risk Literate65%20%Trusting PragmatistsBy party88%5%Democrat77%10%Independent68%19%Republican

AI Concern Crosses Every Demographic Line

Unlike most technology issues, AI concern does not concentrate in a single demographic group. Majorities across every age bracket, education level, gender, ethnicity, and party affiliation report at least some concern. The consistency of this pattern is itself a finding. Use the tabs to explore the full distributions.

AI concern distribution, AI concern by partyExtremely concernedVery concernedSomewhat concernedNot too concernedNot at all concerned0%25%50%75%100%21%26%31%17%Democratn=1,12622%20%30%20%7%Independentn=73426%34%23%13%Othern=7035%30%22%13%Prefer not to sayn=2316%15%35%24%11%Republicann=699

AI Is a Bread-and-Butter Issue, Not a Culture War

Climate change and immigration split sharply along party lines. AI doesn't. Its 13-point partisan gap puts it alongside healthcare, housing, and the economy — issues where both parties broadly agree there's a problem, even if they disagree on solutions.

Dem more concernedRep more concerned010203040506050Climate change32Immigration17Crime & safety13Artificial intelligence13Healthcare9Housing costs7Economy & jobs4Terrorism & war