A recent Pew Research Center survey found that almost half (49%) of U.S. adults have used an AI chatbot, up from a third (33%) in 2024. Even with the increased use of AI, more respondents believe it will have a negative impact on society and on their own lives than a positive one.
Only 16% said the impact of AI will be positive for society, while 40% said it will be negative. Almost one in four (23%) believe it will have a positive impact on their individual lives; 31% say it will have a negative impact on their personal lives.
Views on the negative impacts of AI are split along generational lines, with younger survey participants being more leery of its impact than older ones. Almost half of respondents ages 18–29 (48%) believe AI will have a negative impact on society, compared with only 37% of those over 50.
Those who regularly use chatbots, however, have a more positive than negative view of how they help them in their work, particularly in terms of productivity. Almost a third (30%) say they are more productive when using chatbots, compared with 5% who say they are less productive. However, fewer respondents (21%) say chatbots improve their creativity, with 11% saying they harm it and 17% saying they neither help nor harm it.
Respondents expressed more hesitation about the speed with which AI is developing, with 63% saying it is advancing too quickly and 19% saying it is advancing at about the right pace. Only 2% said it is advancing too slowly.
More results from the Pew survey can be found here.
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