Voters are split on AI’s overall effects: 50% see it as positive for daily life, but only 37% view it as positive for mental health or society. A majority of employed voters view AI positively for their current job (51%), yet more voters expect AI to harm long-term career prospects (48% bad vs. 43% good). Most respondents (58%) expect AI to eliminate more jobs than it creates over the next five years. Concerns vary by education, industry and political and demographic groups.
Voters Divided on AI’s Impact — Many See Daily Benefits, Most Expect Job Loss
Voters are split on AI’s overall effects: 50% see it as positive for daily life, but only 37% view it as positive for mental health or society. A majority of employed voters view AI positively for their current job (51%), yet more voters expect AI to harm long-term career prospects (48% bad vs. 43% good). Most respondents (58%) expect AI to eliminate more jobs than it creates over the next five years. Concerns vary by education, industry and political and demographic groups.
09:32 AM, 11/21/2025Technology
A national survey conducted Nov. 14–17, 2025, finds U.S. voters hold mixed views about artificial intelligence: many see practical benefits in daily life and at work today, but a majority expect AI to eliminate more jobs than it will create and express concern about longer-term career effects.
Key findings
Everyday life: Half of voters (50%) say AI is a good thing for day-to-day life.
Mental health and society: Fewer voters view AI positively for personal mental health or society overall — just 37% in each case called AI a good thing.
Current job vs. long-term career: Among employed voters, 51% say AI is beneficial for their current job while 39% say it is harmful. Looking ahead, voters are more skeptical: 43% say AI will be good for their long-term career, while 48% say it will be bad.
Job creation vs. elimination: A large plurality expects a net loss of jobs from AI in the near term: 58% think more jobs will be eliminated by AI in the next five years, only 10% expect more jobs to be created, and 31% say it is too soon to tell.
Who is more optimistic?
Men, Republican voters, households earning $50,000 or more, parents, and voters with a college degree are more likely to view AI as beneficial across multiple measures (daily life, current job, long-term career, mental health and society). College graduates are at least 10 percentage points more positive than non-degree holders on each of those measures.
Concerns about job loss
About three in 10 employed voters are extremely or very concerned their job is at risk because of AI. More respondents say they are not at all concerned (29%) than say they are extremely concerned (12%). Concern varies by industry: workers in sales, real estate and finance (24% extremely/very concerned) and healthcare (22%) report higher worry, while those in education (14%), agriculture/construction (17%) and food/hospitality (19%) report lower levels of extreme concern.
Demographic groups showing elevated anxiety about job displacement include very liberal voters (26%), urban residents (24%), people ages 45–54 (24%) and men under 45 (23%).
Methodology
The survey interviewed 1,005 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Interviews were conducted Nov. 14–17, 2025, with respondents reached by live interviewers on landlines (104) and cellphones (646) or completing the survey online after receiving a text (255). The margin of sampling error for the full sample is ±3 percentage points; subgroup estimates have larger sampling error. Weights were applied to align the sample with registered voter demographics using sources such as the American Community Survey and voter file data. The survey was conducted under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R).