A growing number of Americans are now using artificial intelligence for tasks such as research, writing, completing school or work assignments, and analyzing data—yet their sentiment toward the technology remains largely negative. Despite increasing adoption, public trust in AI is strikingly low, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released on Monday. Among the nearly 1,400 Americans surveyed, more than three-quarters expressed distrust toward AI: 76% stated they trust it only sometimes or rarely, while just 21% reported trusting it most or almost all of the time.

This skepticism persists even as AI tools become more integrated into daily life. Only 27% of respondents said they have never used AI, down from 33% in April 2025. “The contradiction between use and trust of AI is striking,” observed Chetan Jaiswal, a computer science professor at Quinnipiac. “Fifty-one percent say they use AI for research, and many also use it for writing, work, and data analysis. But only 21 percent trust AI-generated information most or almost all of the time. Americans are clearly adopting AI, but they are doing so with deep hesitation, not deep trust.”

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Part of this distrust appears rooted in apprehension about the future. The poll revealed that only 6% of Americans feel “very excited” about AI, while 62% are not so excited or not excited at all. Conversely, concern is widespread: 80% are very or somewhat concerned about AI, with Millennials and Baby Boomers expressing the most worry, followed closely by Gen Z. According to the survey, 55% believe AI will cause more harm than good in their daily lives, compared to just a third who think it will bring more benefit than harm.

Negative perceptions of AI have grown compared to last year—a shift that may reflect recent events such as large-scale tech layoffs, reports of AI-related psychological harm, and the strain that energy-intensive data centers place on power grids. Most Americans, 65%, oppose having AI data centers built in their communities, primarily due to concerns over high electricity consumption and water use. Additionally, 70% believe AI advancements will reduce job opportunities, while only 7% think it will create more jobs. This marks a change from the previous year, when 56% anticipated a decrease in jobs and 13% expected an increase.

Gen Z, defined in the poll as those born between 1997 and 2008, is particularly pessimistic: 81% foresee fewer jobs due to AI. This concern is not unfounded. Since 2023, entry-level job postings in the U.S. have fallen by 35%, and AI leaders such as Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei have warned that the technology will eliminate certain roles. “Younger Americans report the highest familiarity with AI tools, but they are also the least optimistic about the labor market,” said Tamilla Triantoro, a professor of business analytics and information systems at Quinnipiac. “AI fluency and optimism here are moving in opposite directions.”

Interestingly, although most Americans worry about AI’s impact on the job market overall, fewer believe their own positions are at immediate risk. Among employed respondents, 30% fear AI could make their jobs obsolete—up from 21% last year. “Americans are more worried about what AI may do to the labor market than about what it may do to their own jobs,” Triantoro noted. “People seem more willing to predict a tougher market than to picture themselves on the losing end of that disruption—a pattern worth watching as the technology moves deeper into the workplace.”

A significant factor behind this distrust may be a perceived lack of honesty from AI developers. Two-thirds of those surveyed feel companies are not being transparent enough about how they use AI. The same proportion believes the government is not doing enough to regulate the technology. This sentiment arises as states seek to maintain regulatory control over AI, even while federal officials—including under the Trump administration’s recent, largely hands-off AI framework—and industry advocates push to limit state-level rules.

“Americans are not rejecting AI outright, but they are sending a warning,” Triantoro concluded. “Too much uncertainty, too little trust, too little regulation, and too much fear about jobs.”