Artificial intelligence is now essential in everyday life, to the point of becoming essential. If its uses appeal, in particular to simplify everyday life, it also nourishes deep fears. An investigation by the Pew Research Center, carried out in June 2025, highlights a paradox: the Americans fear that AI will threaten their human essence.
In short
- Half of the Americans say they are more worried than enthusiastic about AI.
- 73 % would accept aid for domestic tasks, but 61 % want more control.
- 53 % believe that AI reduces creativity, and 50 % that it weakens human relations.
- The cleavage between experts and the general public illustrates an increasing distrust of this technology.
Daily AI seduces but deeply worries Americans
Published in September 2025, the Pew Research Center survey questioned more than 5,000 American adults about their perception of artificial intelligence. The results reveal a mixture of fascination and concern.
Almost one in two Americans says it is today more concerned than enthusiastic, an increase marked compared to 2019. Conversely, only 10 % declared themselves frankly enthusiasts in the face of its boom.
However, the use of AI is already anchored in everyday life. 73 % of respondents would agree to delegate certain repetitive tasks, such as cleaning or planning. But this consent is accompanied by a desire for control: 61 % require safeguards so that AI does not go for all the spheres of their lives.
This ambivalence reflects a deep concern. More than half of respondents judge that AI reduces creativity and weakens social relations. In other words, AI seduces for its practicality, but frightened by its dehumanizing potential.
A generational and cultural cleavage
The study also highlights a generational ditch. The under 30s, however the most familiar in AI, paradoxically show more pessimistic. 61 % believe that it will harm creativity, compared to only 42 % of over 65s.
This distrust is also expressed in the academic environment. On American campuses, a recent survey reveals that even generation Z doubts the positive impact of AI on university learning. Many fear that she weaken the quality of teaching and devalues diplomas.
Internationally, American discomfort is not isolated. THE AI index report 2025 De Stanford confirms the rise in concerns in developed countries, despite recognized efficiency gains. In Europe, Germany and the United Kingdom share a similar perception: AI is more seen as a risk than an opportunity.
Finally, confidence remains a major point of fragility. More than half of Americans recognize that they do not know how to distinguish content generated by an AI of human content. This loss of benchmarks fuels an increasing distrust, all the more marked since confidence in large technological companies has been falling off for several years.
A gap between experts and general public
The differences do not stop at generations. They also widen between experts and citizens. When 56 % of AI specialists anticipate a globally positive impact on the American economy, only 17 % of the general public share this opinion. This fracture reveals an issue of perception: AI is seen by the elites as an opportunity, but by citizens as a social threat.
Minorities and vulnerable people express even more marked fears. For them, AI tends to amplify existing discrimination. A concern confirmed by several university studies showing that algorithms reproduce social biases, particularly in terms of employment and justice.
Finally, the regulatory dimension becomes essential. According to a Gallup-Scsp 2025 study72 % of Americans want a stricter IA supervision by the government. This requirement reflects a collective awareness: innovation must remain at the service of humans, not the other way around.
Thus, if AI stands out as an essential tool for American daily life, its adoption remains hampered by a diffuse fear: losing what makes human singularity. Between fascination and concern, the debate only opened. And it could well redraw, in the coming years, the balance between technology, society and democracy.
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