Poll: Americans are divided on whether AI will worsen the job market

Americans are nearly split on whether they believe that as technology advances, artificial intelligence (AI) will reduce the number of available jobs in the future, according to a new poll.

About a third (34 percent) of working Americans said they were very or somewhat worried that they could lose their jobs or have their hours or pay cut because of AI, according to a new YouGov poll on Tuesday. About 28 percent said they were not very worried, while 35 percent said they were not at all worried.

The proportion of those who are very or somewhat concerned about the impact of AI on the labor market remained similar to March of this year, when 35 percent said they held this opinion.

Nearly half (48 percent) of working Americans said they believe AI will reduce the number of jobs available in their industry in general, up from 29 percent in March 2023 and 41 percent in July 2023.

The findings come as the use of AI is increasing across various industries, potentially leading to changes in employee workflows and working hours. Several studies show that introducing voice-based AI software into the workplace benefits less-skilled workers more than highly skilled ones, raising concerns among economists and unions that jobs could be outsourced to regions with lower wages.

Only 2 percent of Americans surveyed said they had personally lost their job or lost fewer hours or pay because of advances in AI, the pollsters found. About 71 percent said they don't know anyone – including themselves – who has lost their job or lost fewer hours or pay because of AI advances.

As the technology advances rapidly, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are putting pressure on AI companies to change their regulations.

The YouGov poll was conducted online among 1,098 U.S. adults. The margin of error for the entire sample is about 4 percentage points.