Stanford's annual AI report dropped Monday. The people building AI and the people living with it aren't seeing the same future. Fifty-six percent of AI experts think the technology will have a positive impact on the U.S. over the next two decades. Only 10% of Americans say they're more excited than concerned about AI.
The gap gets specific fast. On jobs, 73% of experts are optimistic. Just 23% of the public agrees. Medical care shows 84% expert optimism versus 44% public. The economy: 69% to 21%. Insiders see upside. Everyone else sees threat.
What makes the disconnect dangerous is that the two sides aren't even worried about the same things. AI leaders keep talking about existential risk from artificial general intelligence. Regular people are worried about paying rent and whether their electricity bill will spike from data centers, issues that experts suggest stem from a crisis of meaning rather than just displacement.
You can see the strain in real time. After someone attacked Sam Altman's home, some online commenters responded with sympathy for the attacker, not the CEO. The vibe echoed reactions to the UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting in 2024, signaling a growing societal backlash against the industry. That surprised a lot of tech insiders. It probably shouldn't have.
The U.S. has the lowest trust in government AI regulation among nations surveyed, at just 31%. Singapore sits at 81%. Gen Z is turning against AI fastest, according to Gallup, even though half of them use it daily or weekly. Globally, people who think AI offers more benefits than drawbacks edged up from 55% to 59% between 2024 and 2025. But people who say AI makes them nervous also ticked up, from 50% to 52%. The middle isn't growing. The sides are hardening.