Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not an unfamiliar topic for most people these days; rarely has a new technology moved so quickly into the day-to-day lives of so many people. Given the rapid pace of adoption (or steadfast resistance), it is not shocking that opinions on AI are varied. Mix in the fact that trust in the United States around the AI companies themselves is often recorded as much lower than that in other parts of the world, and fights over the power and storage needed for these AI systems are commonplace, and you have a perfect combination of factors that lead to differing viewpoints. 

While there are many factors to consider, one we found interesting is the perceived outcomes of the AI revolution. Will it create higher or lower pay for workers? Will it create new job sectors, or will it be a net loss of jobs? Overall, the mood of Americans leans in a negative direction. The most likely outcome (in the views of American adults) is job loss, followed by the creation of new job sectors. Effects on pay are ranked lower overall, with lower pay considered a more likely outcome than higher pay.

Not surprisingly, there are different views based on demographics, especially when it comes to gender and age.  

Key Takeaways:

• 🎓💼🏁Career Stage is a Big Differentiator: Views among younger adults (those under 40) are much more balanced compared to other age cohorts when it comes to both the overall job effects and pay effects of AI. Loss of jobs is just under 4 points higher among the under-40 crowd than the creation of new job sectors, while the lower pay versus higher pay is less than a point difference. For those 40 and over, the negative views are much more prevalent. Those in the later stages of their working careers (56-74) have the highest concentration of negative views on job creation, while those in the middle working years (40-55) are the most negative on the effects on pay. 

• 🚹🚺The Gender Gap: Women are much more pessimistic about the ultimate outcomes of AI. Men lean slightly towards a negative outcome on jobs (5-point difference) and see the pay question as a near wash (less than a point difference). Women, on the other hand, lean strongly towards a loss of jobs being the most likely outcome (21-point difference) and view lower pay as more likely than higher pay (8-point difference).

• 🔴🔵💜General Partisan Agreement? In this day and age, the number of issues where Americans of all political stripes agree is few and far between. While slight differences exist, overall, Americans of all political identities lean towards the negative on both job creation and pay. Democrats are more bullish on the outcomes of AI than others, with only a 7-point difference on job creation and a 3-point difference on pay outcomes. Republicans have a nearly 20-point lean towards a loss of jobs and a 5-point difference on pay outcomes. Independents are much closer to the Republican view.