--- title: "AI CEOs Baffled by Hatred of Their Technology" description: "Polling continues to show that a lot of Americans really hate AI — and a lot of AI CEOs can't quite grasp why." date: "2026-05-18" modified: "2026-05-18" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-ceos-baffled-hatred" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Future Society" --- # AI CEOs Baffled by Hatred of Their Technology ![A man in a pinstripe suit and tie is covering his ears with both hands, eyes tightly shut, and displaying a pained or distressed expression. The background features a large blue circle centered on a red grid pattern. The image has a stylized, high-contrast look with a slight outline around the man.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Getty Images* A bulk of Americans really hate AI — and many AI CEOs can't quite grasp why. There's a serious mismatch between public sentiment and corporate excitement over AI. Companies continue to AI-wash layoffs and jam the tech into every corner of their products, yet research keeps finding that Americans are opposed to rampant AI expansion: according to [one recent Economist/YouGov poll](), a staggering 70 percent of Americans think that AI is "moving too fast," and about 64 percent believe it's unlikely that the general population will ever reap future economic benefits of the tech. Yet [no one seems to be more confused]() than the makers of the tech themselves. Back in January, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang [lamented]() on a podcast that the AI backlash has been "extremely hurtful," blaming pushback on "doomers" pushing a negative "narrative" of AI. Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman [observed in an X post]() last fall that there are "so many cynics," and that it "cracks me up when I hear people call AI underwhelming." And in February, OpenAI CEO [Sam Altman shared]() that "looking at what's possible," in his view, public embrace "does feel sort of surprisingly slow." According [to *Axios'* Madison Mills](), tech CEOs have also privately conveyed their bafflement. "In previous conversations with *Axios*, AI executives at multiple frontier AI labs were surprised by the negative opinions," Mills writes. "They see AI as just as inevitable as the rise of the internet." And some, apparently, are in outright denial, with Superhuman Mail CEO Rahul Vohra — whose company is [currently facing a class action lawsuit]() over an "expert" editing feature that plundered the likenesses of countless journalists, scientists, and famous dead people without their consent — that Superhuman doesn't "really see" the negative polling. It's a fascinating split-screen, and it's impossible to untangle AI's image issues from the [rhetoric of AI industry leaders themselves](), many of whom have talked extensively about the grave risk of AI-enabled human extinction. And the more hypothetical disaster scenarios aside, the public is also already [feeling the more tangible AI risks](): air pollution from [xAI's massive data center]() in Memphis; the ongoing battle over the mass use of [copyrighted works]() to train AI models; AI-tied [job loss](); worsening [scams](), [disinformation](), and [abuse material](); novel [cybersecurity risks](); and the [life-altering]() — and in some cases, [deadly]() — mental breakdowns tied to some consumers' intensive use of sycophantic AI chatbots. Whereas AI CEOs tend to operate in between the extremes of AI-fueled utopia and total AI apocalypse, the public is living in the reality of current consumer-facing AI tools' ability and impact. It's hard to sell people on a future AI-powered paradise when the everyday reality instead feels dystopian. **More on AI and dystopia:** *[If AI Causes a Mass Unemployment Crisis, Will the Public Explode Into Violence?]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()