--- title: "The Public Is Rapidly Turning Against AI, Polling Shows" description: "Turn The Page AI isn't nearly as popular with the global populace as some would have you believe — and it seems that widespread opinions are shifting against it. As Axios reports based on a new poll of 32,000 global respondents from the consultancy firm Edelman, public trust is already eroding less than 18 months into […]" date: "2024-03-05" modified: "2024-03-05" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/public-against-ai-poll" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai safety" - "polling" - "tech companies" - "the digest" --- # The Public Is Rapidly Turning Against AI, Polling Shows ![AI isn't nearly as popular as some would have you believe — and it seems that public opinion is shifting against it. ]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Turn the Page AI isn't nearly as popular with the global populace as its boosters would have you believe. As [*Axios* reports]() based on a [new poll]() of 32,000 global respondents from the consultancy firm Edelman, public trust is already eroding less than 18 months into the so-called "AI revolution" that popped off with OpenAI's release of ChatGPT in November 2022. "Trust is the currency of the AI era, yet, as it stands, our innovation account is dangerously overdrawn," Justin Westcott, the global technology chair for the firm, told *Axios.* "Companies must move beyond the mere mechanics of AI to address its true cost and value — the 'why' and 'for whom.'" Despite [Silicon Valley's insistence]() that AI is trustworthy, recent polling — including but [far from]() [limited to]() Edelman's — indicates that people are divided about whether the tech is there to help, and trust is falling. Trust in AI is down globally from 61 percent in 2019 to just 53 percent, per the Edelman poll. In the US, where [employment insecurity]() is on the rise and an [untold number of people]() either have lost jobs to AI or expect to, that percentage is lower, with just 35 percent of people now saying they trust the tech whereas 50 said they trusted it five years ago. That dip in percentages since 2019 isn't all that surprising. Before 2022, AI was more the stuff of science fiction and [quiet institutional navelgazing]() than an actual reality. With ChatGPT, those distant concerns about [AI taking jobs]() — or perhaps [enslaving us all]() — suddenly became much more present, and everyone got more [hands-on time with the tech](). ## Management Styles Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the firm's "trust barometer" is that on average, people across the world believe by a two-to-one margin that AI innovation thus far has been "badly managed," as CEO Richard Edelman said in a [statement about the poll](). What's more, although a whopping 76 percent of people trust the tech industry in general, only half trust AI, a gap that certainly needs further exploration as tech giants like [Microsoft]() and [Meta]() keep investing heavily in it. Overall, the Edelman respondents indicated that they look towards [scientists]() to inform them on AI safety, providing an opportunity for the research community to step up as authorities on the subject. "Those who prioritize responsible AI, who transparently partner with communities and governments, and who put control back into the hands of the users, will not only lead the industry but will rebuild the bridge of trust that technology has, somewhere along the way, lost," Wescott told *Axios*. **More on AI trust:** [*Scientists Have a Dirty Secret: Nobody Knows How AI Actually Works*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()