GoKawiilAmericans are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to help with things like research, writing, school or work projects, and analyzing data — but they’re not exactly happy about it.
Even as AI use and adoption rises, Americans continue to lack trust in the new tool, according to a Quinnipiac University poll published Monday. Of the nearly 1,400 Americans surveyed, more than three-quarters said they don’t trust AI — 76% say they trust it rarely or only sometimes, compared to just 21% who trust it most or almost all of the time.
That comes even as an increasing number of Americans adopt AI in their daily lives; only 27% said they’ve never used AI tools, down from 33% in April 2025.
“The contradiction between use and trust of AI is striking,” said 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.”
Part of that lack of trust might come from a feeling of dread about the future AI will bring. The poll found only a paltry 6% were “very excited” about AI while 62% were either not so excited or not at all excited. Those numbers are basically flipped when we talk about concern: 80% are either very concerned or somewhat concerned about AI, with Millennials and Baby Boomers taking the mantle of most worried, and Gen Z following not far behind.
A solid half (55%) say AI will do more harm than good in their day-to-day lives, while only a third say AI will do more good than harm, according to the poll. More people have negative views about AI compared to last year’s survey, according to the researchers — which may not be surprising after a year of Big Tech layoffs, life-ending AI psychosis cases, and energy-grid-straining data centers.
Americans across the board oppose building AI data centers in their communities, with 65% saying they wouldn’t want one built, primarily citing high electricity costs and water use.
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