Americans Fear AI Job Loss, But Hope It Cures Cancer: Survey Reveals Divide

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Americans Fear AI Will Take Their Jobs, But Hope It Can Cure Cancer

A recent Anthropic survey of almost 52,000 people found that Americans are most worried about losing their jobs due to artificial intelligence (AI), but they’re most optimistic about AI’s potential to help cure diseases like cancer.

The research reveals a disconnect between people’s hopes for AI and their fears about it, especially as job losses due to automation increase and become a political issue in the U.S.

Job Loss Outranks Every Other AI Fear

In late 2025, Anthropic conducted a study of over 51,000 Americans, called the Public Record study. The biggest worry for most people – in every state – was losing their job, with 64% of respondents expressing this concern.

Worry levels varied by state, ranging from 71% in Iowa to 57% in Mississippi. Democrats expressed concern at a higher rate (67%) than Republicans (62%).

The survey revealed that people with advanced degrees are almost 10% more likely to worry about losing their jobs compared to those with only a high school diploma or less. However, workers who use artificial intelligence (AI) on the job daily are significantly less concerned about job loss – 54% – than those who don’t use it at all (70%).

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The study found that people are most concerned about becoming too reliant on artificial intelligence (56%), followed by the spread of false information (52%). A small percentage – just 15% – of Americans trust AI companies to guide the development of this technology.

In our testing, this institution recorded the lowest score of anyone we examined. It came in at just under 15%, significantly lower than federal agencies (20%), state and local governments (19%), international organizations (20%), and especially independent experts who averaged around 43%.

AI Layoffs and a Billionaire Pushback

This isn’t just a worry about the future – it’s happening now. BeInCrypto found that artificial intelligence was linked to over 38,500 job losses in the US during May, representing roughly 40% of all jobs cut that month.

Companies have announced 87,714 job cuts linked to artificial intelligence in 2026 alone. This is already more than the total number of AI-related layoffs announced throughout all of 2025, which was 54,836.

The call to protect workers is now reaching Washington, with Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders leading the charge in Congress.

There’s debate about AI’s impact on jobs. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, believes AI will actually lead to a shortage of workers, not job losses. He shared this view as his new AI company, Prometheus, received $12 billion in funding, valuing it at $41 billion.

Bezos explained that some families with two working adults might decide to have just one person working, shifting from a two-income household to a single-income one.

Americans Want Cures and Accountability

Looking at potential benefits, nearly half of respondents (48%) ranked finding cures for diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s among the top three best uses for artificial intelligence. Assisting individuals with disabilities was also a high priority, cited by 36%.

A large majority of people favor some level of government oversight for artificial intelligence. The survey found that 71% of respondents support government involvement, with particularly strong support from Democrats (79%) and a significant majority of Republicans (68%) also in favor.

When asked about guiding AI development for the benefit of people, nearly half of respondents (47%) favored making companies legally responsible for any harm caused by their AI. A similar percentage (44%) believed safety should be more important than rapid growth in the field.

As more people start using AI, Anthropic intends to continue sharing information about its development process. Initial feedback suggests the public is excited about AI advancements but also has doubts about the companies creating them.

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2026-06-13 23:31