Greater than half of Individuals — 53% — worry synthetic intelligence might price them or somebody of their family a job, a brand new Reuters/Ipsos ballot finds.
The findings come as firms ramp up AI investments whereas trimming their workforces, fueling concern throughout demographics. Nervousness about job losses was constant throughout age, gender and schooling ranges, although Democrats had been extra doubtless than Republicans to specific concern.
The six-day ballot of 4,531 U.S. adults nationwide adopted a wave of AI-related job cuts by main firms. Software program agency Intuit instructed employees final month it will lay off 17% of its world workforce to streamline operations and sharpen give attention to its key bets together with its AI efforts.
An April Challenger, Grey & Christmas report discovered U.S. employers introduced 60,620 layoffs in March and AI adoption was the first cause behind 1 / 4 of the cuts.
Final yr, Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski instructed CNBC the Swedish fintech firm lowered its workforce by 40% whereas Ford CEO Jim Farley mentioned AI will “change actually half of all white-collar employees within the U.S.”
Jennifer Schalhoub, a 62-year-old freelance author in Little Ferry, New Jersey, instructed Reuters she not too long ago misplaced her job writing letters to authorities officers to advocate for particular insurance policies, a loss that she suspects the rise of AI had a task in.
“AI is taking up as a result of individuals care much less and fewer concerning the high quality of the work that will get produced,” Schalhoub mentioned.
AI Faces Cultural Backlash
Synthetic Intelligence know-how has confronted backlash and its potential use as a device of political propaganda, in leisure and even warfare has prompted warnings by elected leaders and even Pope Leo XIV.
On Could 25, the Catholic Church printed Leo’s encyclicals the place he mentioned that what is required for AI “is a extra lively political involvement that’s able to slowing issues down when all the things is accelerating.”
College of Arizona college students booed Eric Schmidt final month when the previous Google CEO mentioned AI’s affect at a commencement ceremony.
The backlash comes as younger job seekers are having a tough time acquiring entry-level jobs.
A Cengage Group survey discovered 76% of employers reported hiring for fewer or the identical variety of entry-level roles in 2025, up from 69% in 2024. A Federal Reserve Financial institution of New York research discovered 42% of current faculty graduates are “underemployed,” the best stage since 2020, that means they’re working jobs that don’t usually require a school diploma.
Whereas AI will not be the one think about tightened hiring, Peter Watkins, senior director of college applications on the CFA Institute, beforehand instructed USA TODAY that the know-how is enjoying a task.
“If companies wish to make useful resource reductions, AI begins to turn into an answer for that, whereas in one other financial local weather, they’d in all probability be utilizing it extra by way of innovation and progress,” Watkins mentioned.
Contributing: Reuters
