{"slug": "the-more-people-learn-about-ai-the-more-they-want-it-out-of-their-lives", "title": "The More People Learn About AI, the More They Want It Out of Their Lives", "summary": "A Bentley University and Gallup poll found that 39% of US adults now believe AI does more harm than good, up from 31% in 2025, while only 9% say it does more good than harm, even as 70% report being somewhat or extremely knowledgeable about AI, up 6% from 2024. A separate Politico survey found 41% of US adults would oppose a data center within three miles of their home, up from 28% in January. Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business ethics professor Derek Leben told Bloomberg that AI aversion is creating social suspicion and moral judgment, especially in creative industries.", "body_md": "For a time, it appeared as if AI would find broad acceptance among the American masses.\n\nThe peanut gallery on social media [happily embraced](https://cheezburger.com/17224453/a-load-more-dall-e-mini-memes-because-the-internet-cant-get-enough-of-them) early image generation models as researchers appeared to make [significant breakthroughs](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02083-2) with the aid of their newfound tools. On paper, surveys found public attitudes toward the tech continued to improve into 2025 — before sharply reversing.\n\nIn 2026, America’s honeymoon phase with AI seems to be quickly wearing off. According to a [joint poll](https://news.gallup.com/poll/712751/americans-cool-toward.aspx) conducted by Bentley University and Gallup, the percentage of US adults who think AI does “more harm than good” is rising, from 31 percent in 2025 to 39 percent this year, while a piddling 9 percent still think the tech does “more good than harm.”\n\nAs outlooks sour, the Bentley-Gallup poll found that Americans’ familiarity with AI continues to grow. In 2026, 70 percent of those polled said they’re “somewhat or extremely knowledgeable” about AI, up 6 percent compared to 2024. The implication probably gives OpenAI Sam Altman a migraine: the more people learn about AI, the less they seem to want it in their lives.\n\nMeanwhile, Americans are increasingly wary about data centers, with a recent [Politico survey](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/21/poll-data-centers-democrats-moratorium-01001799) finding that 41 percent of US adults would oppose a data center being built within three miles of their home, up drastically from 28 percent in January. At the same time, the volume of support for data centers plummeted, down 13 percent over the past six months alone.\n\nSpeaking [to Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-30/how-chatgpt-and-ai-are-dividing-friends-and-families?sref=YfHlo0rL) about the rising aversion to AI, professor of ethics at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business Derek Leben said the attitude is increasingly taking root along social lines. Not only do AI haters dislike the tech in their own personal sphere, but they’re increasingly scrutinizing their friends, family, and coworkers about their attitudes.\n\n“The most obvious social effect is suspicion,” Leben told *Bloomberg*. “There is also a moral and political judgment that is coming along with AI usage, especially in creative industries where the stigma is the strongest.”\n\nCarla Milan, a 37-year-old public health professional in New York City, told the publication she’s frustrated that family and friends deploy AI reflexively, without considering its social or environmental costs.\n\n“I hear people champion AI and I’m like, ‘sure, why don’t we all participate in our collective downfall?'” Milan told *Bloomberg*. “Why don’t we all play a part in diminishing our humanity and degrading the environment?”\n\n**More on AI: **[Meta Working on Crushingly Sad AI App That Tells Bedtime Stories to Children, for “Tired” Parents](https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/meta-sad-ai-app-stories-children)", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-more-people-learn-about-ai-the-more-they-want-it-out-of-their-lives", "canonical_source": "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-learn-negative-sentiment-polling-american-attitudes", "published_at": "2026-08-01 15:02:00+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-01 15:30:24.461775+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-policy", "ai-ethics"], "entities": ["Bentley University", "Gallup", "Politico", "Bloomberg", "Carnegie Mellon University", "Derek Leben", "Carla Milan"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-more-people-learn-about-ai-the-more-they-want-it-out-of-their-lives", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-more-people-learn-about-ai-the-more-they-want-it-out-of-their-lives.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-more-people-learn-about-ai-the-more-they-want-it-out-of-their-lives.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-more-people-learn-about-ai-the-more-they-want-it-out-of-their-lives.jsonld"}}