Despite rapid advances in artificial intelligence, public enthusiasm has not kept pace. New data from Pew Research shows that 52% of Americans are now more concerned than excited about AI's growing role in daily life, a sharp rise from 37% in 2021. Only 9% feel more excited than concerned, while the rest are evenly split.
The unease is especially pronounced among younger Americans. For the first time since Pew began tracking this question, a majority of adults under 30—55%—say they are more worried than hopeful about AI.
This skepticism extends beyond the technology itself to the people building it. A CNBC Generation Lab poll asked 1,088 respondents whether they trusted nine prominent tech leaders to act responsibly. A majority distrusted every single one. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella fared relatively best, though 65% still said they do not trust him. Palantir's Alex Karp was the least trusted, with 81% expressing distrust, followed closely by Anthropic's Dario Amodei and Alphabet's Sundar Pichai, both around 75%. Only 36% thought an independent expert body should set AI rules.
Europe's cautious embrace
Across the Atlantic, similar anxieties are emerging. A 2025 EY study found that 42% of European employees worry AI could put their jobs at risk. A broader Verian Group survey for the European Commission found that 66% of the public believe AI will ultimately destroy more jobs than it creates.
Yet the picture is not entirely bleak. Half of Europeans surveyed by Verian agreed that AI could help tackle major global challenges, from serious diseases to climate change. Views on its broader impact were split: 55% of EU citizens expected AI to shape daily life positively over the next 20 years, against 35% who anticipated the opposite.
Europeans also overwhelmingly back stronger oversight. 84% agree that AI and robots need careful management, primarily to protect privacy and ensure transparency. At the same time, 62% view AI's presence at work favourably, against 32% who do not.
That caution may stem partly from a knowledge gap. More than 60% of Europeans say they do not feel informed about the potential risks of using AI in scientific research.
Taken together, the data suggests Europeans are somewhat more open to AI than Americans, yet also more inclined to demand regulation and safety guardrails. This aligns with the EU's ongoing efforts to craft comprehensive AI legislation, a contrast to the more laissez-faire approach in the United States.
In the US, AI's expansion is running into a different kind of resistance. Plans to build new AI data centres are facing significant public backlash, even where developers offer incentives such as job guarantees. Much of that pushback stems from a simple disconnect: many consumers do not see a clear personal benefit from the infrastructure being built around them.
For a long time, AI was something narrow and useful—a search tool, a chatbot. Now it is showing up everywhere: in televisions, video platforms, email, music, schoolwork and more. This ubiquity, without a corresponding sense of tangible benefit, may be fueling the distrust.
The challenge for AI's advocates is not just technical but deeply human. Winning trust will require more than impressive capabilities; it will demand transparency, accountability, and a clear demonstration of value to ordinary people. As the data shows, both the technology and its creators have a long way to go.
