Negative views of the AI industry
Publication date: August 18, 1:30 p.m.
CNBC and Generation Lab polled Americans aged 18 to 34 and found that a solid majority are uneasy about the people guiding AI development at major technology firms. All nine executives included in the survey received distrust scores ranging from 65% to 81%, which makes for a troubling outlook for the industry.
These findings also highlight a generational trust gap that could shape public debate about artificial intelligence in the years ahead.
Survey results
Microsoft's Satya Nadella drew the lowest distrust number, with around 65% of respondents saying they do not trust him. About 70% of participants said the same about Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, Nvidia's Jensen Huang, and SpaceX's Elon Musk. For Alphabet/Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, distrust stood at 75%. Palantir chairman Peter Thiel was distrusted by 79%, while Palantir CEO Alex Karp topped the list at 81%.
Young adults also have doubts about AI's impact on their work lives. Forty-five percent believe AI will harm their careers, while 10% expect it to help. Nearly 80% rate the current U.S. economy negatively. Half think it will get worse; 22% think it will improve.
On politics, 46% of respondents say they look favorably or very favorably on democratic socialism, while 23% regard it unfavorably or very unfavorably. In combination, these numbers indicate a significant erosion of confidence in tech leadership and AI-related decision-making.
The low level of trust in tech executives may be a sign of mounting worry about AI's consequences for employment and the economy as a whole.
Since younger Americans are paying closer attention to social and economic forces, such attitudes may pressure companies to change how they design and govern new technologies. To regain credibility, businesses may need to adjust their communication and product strategies, especially as AI continues to expand.
As concerns about AI leadership grow, it's important to consider the broader implications of cognitive decline among young adults. Recent studies indicate a significant drop in IQ levels among U.S. individuals aged 18 to 22, which may further exacerbate worries about the future job market and economic stability. To explore this alarming trend, read more about the sharp decline in intelligence among youth.