Weekly: 10.3.26

Pew Research Center found that AI-generated "synthetic" respondents failed to reproduce results from three human surveys drawn from its American Trends Panel, with the errors especially pronounced for Republicans and Black adults. Pew replicated the three surveys with AI respondents and reported the synthetic versions did a poor job of matching real results. In a separate finding, 64% of U.S. adults say social media is bad for democracy, unchanged from four years earlier, while the share holding that view rose significantly in most countries with trend data.

Weekly Roundup The latest findings from Pew Research Center · Subscribe ↗ https://pewresearch.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=434f5d1199912232d416897e4&id=3e953b9b70 Can AI Stand In for Human Survey-Takers? Not Really https://www.pewresearch.org/data-labs/2026/09/30/can-ai-stand-in-for-human-survey-takers-not-really/ As artificial intelligence becomes more advanced, there is growing interest in using it to stand in for real respondents in public opinion surveys https://www.pewresearch.org/data-labs/2026/09/30/can-ai-stand-in-for-human-survey-takers-not-really/ . To learn more about this method, we replicated three human surveys from our American Trends Panel with AI respondents. These synthetic surveys did a poor job of reproducing the real results and were especially error-prone for some subgroups, including Republicans and Black adults. Across the Globe, People Increasingly Say Social Media Is Harming Democracy https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2026/10/01/across-the-globe-people-increasingly-say-social-media-is-harming-democracy/ The share of people who believe social media is bad for democracy has increased significantly in recent years in most countries where trend data is available. Views remain particularly negative in the U.S. https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2026/10/01/across-the-globe-people-increasingly-say-social-media-is-harming-democracy/ , where 64% of adults say social media is bad for democracy. That’s unchanged since we last asked four years ago. What’s Behind Partisan Labels? Why Americans Identify as Republicans and Democrats – and Why They Don’t https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/10/02/why-americans-identify-as-republicans-and-democrats-and-why-they-dont/ Most Americans identify as Republicans or Democrats. But many don’t, and instead “lean” toward one party or the other. For these leaners, opposition to the other party’s policies is more of a motivating factor than support for the policies of the party they lean toward. From Cash to Credit, How Americans’ Payment Methods Have Changed in the Past Decade https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/09/30/from-cash-to-credit-how-americans-payment-methods-have-changed-in-the-past-decade/ Between 2015 and 2025, the share of purchases Americans make with cash https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/09/30/from-cash-to-credit-how-americans-payment-methods-have-changed-in-the-past-decade/ has fallen, from 33% to 14%. Credit cards now account for the highest share 34% , followed by debit cards 31% . From August: Most Americans Favor the Death Penalty for Those Convicted of Murder https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/08/06/most-americans-favor-the-death-penalty-for-those-convicted-of-murder/ About two-thirds of Americans favor the death penalty for people convicted of murder and see it as morally justified for this type of offense https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/08/06/most-americans-favor-the-death-penalty-for-those-convicted-of-murder/ . Still, a majority say capital punishment does not deter people from committing serious crimes. How Urban, Suburban and Rural Americans Engage in Society https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/09/28/how-urban-suburban-and-rural-americans-engage-in-society/ From our research The share of Americans who prefer to make in-person payments with a credit or debit card https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/09/30/from-cash-to-credit-how-americans-payment-methods-have-changed-in-the-past-decade/ . Just 16% prefer cash.