A growing disconnect has emerged in the artificial intelligence sector: while public sentiment toward the technology is increasingly negative, adoption rates continue to climb. Recent data indicates that billions of users are engaging with AI tools daily, even as surveys reveal widespread anxiety and opposition to AI infrastructure.
What Happened
According to market analysis firm Sensor Tower, ChatGPT hit a billion monthly users in May. Google DeepMind’s Gemini followed closely, logging 950 million users in July. This surge in usage is corroborated by Pew Research Center data, which shows that half of US adults now say they use a chatbot, more than twice the number who said they did in 2023. One in four people say they do so every day. Globally, more than a third of adults across all 38 OECD countries report having used generative AI tools in the last three months.
Despite this adoption, sentiment is souring. Pew Research Center reports that more adults in the US think AI will have a negative impact on them personally, and on society in general, than expect a positive one, with pessimism strongest among the young. A Stanford University report found that more than half of people worldwide say that AI products and services make them nervous. Furthermore, a Gallup poll in May revealed that 71% of US adults said they would oppose construction of a new AI data center in their area, far more than the 53% who said they would oppose a new nuclear power plant.
Why It Matters
The divergence between usage and sentiment suggests that public dislike may stem less from the technology itself and more from the relentless drive of companies to push AI upon users. This dynamic mirrors the techlash seen with social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, where billions flocked to the services despite mounting dissatisfaction with the companies that ran them. However, the AI landscape may offer more room for consumer influence due to the emergence of top-class open-source alternatives to Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic.
Regulatory pressure is also mounting. All 50 US states have either passed or proposed laws governing the development and deployment of AI, creating a patchwork of more than 2,100 bills across the country—a tenfold increase in three years. The availability of high-quality open-source models and increased legislative attention could create market pressure for AI products that are clear about what they can and can’t do, rather than those that posture as if they are about to take over the world.
The Bottom Line
While AI companies continue to report record user numbers, the industry faces a paradox of high engagement and low trust. The rise of open-source options and a surge in state-level regulation may provide pathways for consumers to shape the future of AI deployment, challenging the inevitability of current corporate narratives.