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US experts who work in artificial intelligence fields seem to have a much rosier outlook on AI than the rest of us.

In a survey comparing views of a nationally representative sample (5,410) of the general public to a sample of 1,013 AI experts, the Pew Research Center found that "experts are far more positive and enthusiastic about AI than the public" and "far more likely than Americans overall to believe AI will have a very or somewhat positive impact on the United States over the next 20 years" (56 percent vs. 17 percent). And perhaps most glaringly, 76 percent of experts believe these technologies will benefit them personally rather than harm them (15 percent).

The public does not share this confidence. Only about 11 percent of the public says that "they are more excited than concerned about the increased use of AI in daily life." They're much more likely (51 percent) to say they're more concerned than excited, whereas only 15 percent of experts shared that pessimism. Unlike the majority of experts, just 24 percent of the public thinks AI will be good for them, whereas nearly half the public anticipates they will be personally harmed by AI.

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[-] cupcakezealot@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 months ago

remember when tech companies did fun events with actual interesting things instead of spending three hours on some new stupid ai feature?

[-] rockettaco37@lemmy.world 0 points 2 months ago

All it took was for us to destroy our economy using it to figure that out!

[-] SSNs4evr@leminal.space 0 points 2 months ago

The problem could be that, with all the advancements in technology just since 1970, all the medical advancements, all the added efficiencies at home and in the workplace, the immediate knowledge-availability of the internet, all the modern conveniences, and the ability to maintain distant relationships through social media, most of our lives haven't really improved.

We are more rushed and harried than ever, life expectancy (in the US) has decreased, we've gone from 1 working adult in most families to 2 working adults (with more than 1 job each), income has gone down. Recreation has moved from wholesome outdoor activities to an obese population glued to various screens and gaming systems.

The "promise of the future" through technological advancement, has been a pretty big letdown. What's AI going to bring? More loss of meaningful work? When will technology bring fewer working hours and more income - at the same time? When will technology solve hunger, famine, homelessness, mental health issues, and when will it start cleaning my freaking house and making me dinner?

When all the jobs are gone, how beneficial will our overlords be, when it comes to universal basic income? Most of the time, it seems that more bad comes from out advancements than good. It's not that the advancements aren't good, it's that they're immediately turned to wartime use considerations and profiteering for a very few.

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[-] CancerMancer@sh.itjust.works 0 points 2 months ago

Just about every major advance in technology like this enhanced the power of the capitalists who owned it and took power away from the workers who were displaced.

[-] VirtualOdour@sh.itjust.works 0 points 2 months ago

People aren't very smart, have trouble understanding new things and fear change - of course they express negative options.

Most Americans would have said the sama about electricity, computers, the internet, mobile phones...

[-] TuxEnthusiast@sopuli.xyz 0 points 2 months ago

AI does improve our lives. Saying it doesn't is borderline delusional.

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[-] Sibshops@lemm.ee 0 points 2 months ago

No surprise there. We just went through how blockchain is going to drastically help our lives in some unspecified future.

[-] moonlight@fedia.io 0 points 2 months ago

Depends on what we mean by "AI".

Machine learning? It's already had a huge effect, drug discovery alone is transformative.

LLMs and the like? Yeah I'm not sure how positive these are. I don't think they've actually been all that impactful so far.

Once we have true machine intelligence, then we have the potential for great improvements in daily life and society, but that entirely depends on how it will be used.

It could be a bridge to post-scarcity, but under capitalism it's much more likely it will erode the working class further and exacerbate inequality.

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[-] Naevermix@lemmy.world -1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

They're right. What happens to the workers when they're no longer required? The horses faced a similar issue at the advent of the combustion engine. The solution? Considerably fewer horses.

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[-] CosmoNova@lemmy.world -1 points 2 months ago

AI is mainly a tool for the powerful to oppress the lesser blessed. I mean cutting actual professionals out of the process to let CEOs wildest dreams go unchecked has devastating consequences already if rumors are to believed that some kids using ChatGPT cooked up those massive tariffs that have already erased trillions.

[-] pennomi@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

I would agree with that if the cost of the tool was prohibitively expensive for the average person, but it’s really not.

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[-] applemao@lemmy.world -1 points 2 months ago

Yet my libertarian centrist friend INSISTS that AI is great for humanity. I keep telling him the billionaires don't give a fuck about you and he keeps licking boots. How many others are like this??

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this post was submitted on 04 Apr 2025
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