A Gallup opinion survey, commissioned by Microsoft, shows that people worldwide are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) for everyday tasks — from finding recipes and doing homework to researching work projects and preparing presentations. However, frequent usage does not necessarily mean comfort with the technology’s broader implications: about 68% of Americans who use AI daily say they are worried about it.
Study scope and methodology
The Gallup project currently reports results from 37 countries, with roughly 1,000 people polled in each country between April and July 2024. The study is planned to expand to 140 countries. Notable absences from the published results include India, Australia, and Malaysia.
Greater anxiety in Western countries
The findings place Western countries toward the more anxious end of the spectrum. In the United States, 74% of respondents reported feelings of worry about AI overall, and only 36% expect AI to mostly help the country. In Canada, 29% of respondents said they use AI daily; of those daily users, more than half expressed concern about the technology’s impact, and 64% of Canadians aware of AI said it worried them.
Optimism elsewhere, but not necessarily trust
In parts of the world people report more optimism. Singapore had the highest share of daily users in the study (46%); more than 80% of those aware of AI expect the technology to improve their everyday lives, and 77% think it will help the country. In China, 35% reported daily AI use and a majority expect the technology to help the country. Israel showed a similar pattern.
Optimism, however, does not always translate into strong confidence in AI’s accuracy. Gallup found that daily users generally report greater trust in AI outputs, especially in high-adoption countries such as Singapore, Israel, and China, while less frequent users remain skeptical worldwide. In the U.S., only 45% of daily users said they had high confidence in AI results; the median across surveyed countries for trusting AI’s results a lot was 36%.
Emotions: curiosity prevailing but worry present
Overall, Gallup reports that positive feelings outweigh negative ones: in 34 of the 37 countries surveyed, people most commonly reported feeling curious about AI, with fewer saying they felt happy or excited. About 32% of respondents said they felt worried about AI. Positive emotions were most common in China (90%), Singapore (89%), and Kenya (87%).
Political and societal context
The survey period ended in July 2024, and AI development has continued to accelerate since then, making the issue a matter of international importance. AI safety is expected to be on the agenda when U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet. In China, Chen Yixin, head of the Ministry of State Security, wrote recently that AI will have “a systemic impact on the political and security environment,” and could threaten China’s “political security, institutional security, and ideological security.”
Meanwhile, broader tensions around AI include large-scale layoffs by tech firms that are redirecting investment into AI, shrinking entry-level job opportunities, instances of serious harm attributed to AI behavior, and stark warnings from AI executives such as Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei about mass job displacement.
Implications: exposure alone won’t erase unease
Gallup’s analysis emphasizes the multidimensional nature of public attitudes toward AI. People can be curious and expect benefits from AI while simultaneously worrying about its risks and doubting the accuracy of its outputs. Increased exposure and daily use, the report suggests, will not automatically resolve those concerns. At the same time, heavy investment means AI adoption is likely to continue expanding even as debates persist over appropriate limits and regulation.
Pablo Diego-Rosell, senior scientist at Gallup, summarized that attitudes toward AI are complex: citizens can frequently use and hope for AI’s benefits while remaining worried and skeptical about its results.
