Americans are feeling pretty pessimistic about AI and its impact on employment.
A new poll released by Quinnipiac University on Monday found that 70% of Americans believe that advancements in artificial intelligence will lead to a decrease in job opportunities generally.
And 30% are concerned that their own jobs may be rendered obsolete.
That marks a significant increase over the last year. In April 2025, the same pollster found that 21% of Americans said that they were worried that their job would become obsolete.
That worry is relatively constant across age cohorts, but with some notable differences. Just 26% of Gen Z is concerned about their jobs becoming obsolete, while 34% of millennials said the same.
And among millennials, 15% said they’re “very concerned,” while just 7% of Gen Z said the same.
As AI becomes more prevalent in the workplace, there’s a raging debate about what it will all mean, including which jobs might be replaced and which will simply become more productive.
The poll also found that Americans have other concerns about AI, including when it comes to regulation, data centers, and the military.
Sixty-five percent of Americans said they would oppose building an AI data center in their own community, while 74% believe that the government isn’t doing enough to regulate the technology. Additionally, 55% believe AI will do more harm than good in their daily lives.
And amid the dispute between Anthropic and the Department of Defense over the use of AI in warfighting, 51% of Americans said they oppose the military using AI to select targets.
The Quinnipiac Poll was conducted from March 19 through 23 and included roughly 1,400 US adults. It had a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.
