Most Americans are uneasy about artificial intelligence, especially when it comes to jobs and national stability. A new Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 71% of U.S. adults are worried AI will put “too many people out of work permanently.”
Majority Also Fear Political Turmoil And Military Use Of AI
The concern doesn’t stop at employment. About 77% of Americans also said they’re worried AI could be used to stir political chaos as the technology improves. Nearly half—48%—said the U.S. government should never use AI to locate potential targets for military attacks.
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The poll also showed that 61% of Americans are concerned about the large amounts of electricity needed to power AI, and around two-thirds fear people will ditch human relationships for AI companions.
The survey comes as business leaders and economists acknowledge that AI is already starting to reshape the labor market.
“We’re slowing down the hiring in jobs that are, quite frankly, soul-crushing jobs,” ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE:NOW) CEO Bill McDermott told Bloomberg recently. He said that AI agents now generate 97% of standard software and handle 80% of customer support inquiries—working nonstop without needing lunch breaks or healthcare benefits.
Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff has echoed that shift, saying in June that AI now accounts for 30% to 50% of his company's workload. Salesforce cut over 1,000 jobs this year while restructuring around AI. "It's a digital labor revolution," Benioff told Bloomberg.
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Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has also warned of rising job losses, especially among younger tech workers. Unemployment for tech workers ages 20 to 30 has jumped nearly 3 percentage points since early 2024—over four times the national average. Goldman Chief Economist Jan Hatzius estimates AI could replace 6% to 7% of U.S. jobs in the next decade.
Economist Craig Shapiro recently shared his concerns in a post, writing, “Fed interest rate cutting cycle will do very little to save the labor market which has begun to deteriorate more rapidly due to the acceleration of developments from Artificial Intelligence.”
Shapiro emphasized that while the Federal Reserve may try to respond with interest rate cuts, “monetary policy is designed to address cyclical shocks—not the kind of structural transformation posed by automation.”
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Shapiro pointed to Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr, who has also warned that AI might require a rethink of the “natural rate of unemployment” and could result in “lengthy unemployment spells.”
Some, like McDermott, have praised the White House’s current AI action plan. “We need less regulation and more innovation,” he told Bloomberg.
Still, others worry the rush to automate is being celebrated without much thought for human consequences. As former Google X executive Mo Gawdat put it, “CEOs are celebrating that they can now get rid of people and have productivity gains and cost reductions because AI can do that job. The one thing they don't think of is AI will replace them, too.”
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