Over 70% of Americans Fear AI Replacing Jobs — But That's Not the Top Concern, According to a New Poll More than 4,000 U.S. workers were polled over six days.
By Erin Davis Edited by Sherin Shibu
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll found that U.S. workers are increasingly fearful of AI in several areas.
The poll, which concluded on Monday, gathered responses online from 4,446 U.S. adults nationwide over six days, asking questions about their levels of "concern" over AI topics, including job loss, political chaos, replacement for in-person relationships, AI in military use, electricity consumption, and more.
And while AI is already taking over jobs in human resources and on Wall Street, the top concern wasn't job loss (that came in at No. 2, with 71% reporting being concerned that AI will put "too many people out of work permanently"); it was "political chaos caused by U.S. rivals," which wielded "concern" from 77% of respondants.
Other notable responses included:
- 48% said the government should never use AI to determine the target of a military strike
- 61% said they were concerned about the amount of electricity needed to power AI
- 67% reported being concerned that AI will have uncontrollable consequences
- 66% said they were concerned that AI could be a replacement for in-person relationships
In July, Microsoft published a study that found a variety of roles that could be affected by AI, including historians, translators, and software engineers.
Meanwhile, a May report from SignalFire, a venture capital firm that monitors the job movements of over 650 million employees on LinkedIn, found that big tech companies have reduced hiring new graduates by 25% from 2023 to 2024.
