Pew Research AI Survey 2025

Summary

A large-scale Pew Research Center survey comparing AI experts' and U.S. public attitudes toward AI's risks, opportunities, and regulation. The study reveals significant gaps between expert and public sentiment, with experts generally more optimistic while the public expresses greater concern. Key topics include AI's societal impact, desired regulatory frameworks, and expectations about AI's transformative potential.

Key Points

• •AI experts tend to be more excited and optimistic about AI's potential benefits than the general U.S. public, who lean more toward concern.
• •Both experts and the public broadly support some form of AI regulation, though they differ on scope, urgency, and preferred mechanisms.
• •The public shows heightened concern about AI's effects on employment, privacy, and misinformation compared to expert respondents.
• •Experts are more likely to anticipate major positive breakthroughs (e.g., medical, scientific) from AI within the next decade.
• •The survey highlights a significant knowledge and perception gap between AI-informed communities and the broader public on key safety and governance issues.