Only 16% of Americans believe AI will positively impact society: Pew Research

Only 16% of Americans believe AI will positively impact society over the next two decades, according to a Pew Research Center survey. The gap between public skepticism and industry optimism is widening, with 50% of US adults now more concerned than excited about AI, up from 37% in 2021. The findings pose challenges for AI adoption and regulation, particularly for crypto-AI projects.

Only 16% of Americans believe AI will positively impact society: Pew Research The gap between Wall Street's AI enthusiasm and public sentiment is widening, and crypto-AI projects sit right in the crossfire. New data from Pew Research Center shows that just 17% of US adults expect artificial intelligence to have a positive impact on society over the next two decades. That’s roughly one in six people looking at the most hyped technology since the internet and saying, “Yeah, this will be fine.” The contrast with AI insiders is striking. Among AI experts, 56% believe the technology will be a net positive for society. In other words, the people building the thing are more than three times as optimistic as the people who’ll have to live with it. A June 2025 Pew survey found that 50% of US adults feel more concerned than excited about AI’s integration into daily life. That number sat at 37% back in 2021. A 13-percentage-point jump in four years, during a period when AI tools went from niche curiosities to mainstream products, suggests that greater exposure to AI hasn’t exactly won people over. The skepticism isn’t uniform across applications, though. Medical care is the one area where Americans see genuine promise: 44% hold a positive view of AI in healthcare, compared to just 19% who view it negatively. Only 24% of the public feels optimistic about AI’s impact on education. And just 23% believe AI will positively affect jobs. By mid-2025, 47% of US adults reported having heard “a lot” about AI. People aren’t skeptical because they’re uninformed. They’re skeptical because they’ve been paying attention. If half the American public is more concerned than excited about AI in general, layering on blockchain, a technology that still carries its own trust deficit, creates a compounding credibility problem. Decentralized AI networks promise to solve issues like data privacy and centralized control. But those promises land in an environment where nearly half or more of both the public and experts say they currently have little or no control over AI’s influence in their lives. The 50% concern figure gives lawmakers cover to push stricter AI regulation, which could ripple into crypto-AI projects that rely on permissionless data processing or decentralized training sets. The addressable market for consumer-facing AI products may be smaller and slower to materialize than token valuations imply. When 50% of your potential user base starts from a position of concern, customer acquisition costs go up and conversion rates go down. AI applications in medical care are the one domain where public sentiment actually tilts positive, with 44% holding a favorable view. Crypto projects focused on health data, decentralized clinical trials, or AI-assisted diagnostics may have a smoother adoption path than those targeting education or labor markets. The Pew findings underscore that people want more control over how AI affects their lives. Blockchain’s core value proposition—verifiability, immutability, user sovereignty—theoretically aligns with that desire. Projects that can demonstrate genuine transparency and user control, rather than just claiming it in a whitepaper, will have a structural advantage as the regulatory environment tightens. Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy https://cryptobriefing.com/editorial-policy/ .