People From 50- to 64-Years-Old Are Reportedly the Least Freaked Out by AI

One of the ways Pew Research has been gauging American attitudes about AI for the past few years is by asking this question that measures people’s excitement against their concern. They started asking this in 2021, in the pre-ChatGPT days, and in the latest survey six years later, Americans in general are less excited than ever—and also tied for the most concerned ever. But one group is trending the opposite direction from the rest: people in the 50-64 age range, a group that mostly—though not entirely—overlaps with what we call Generation-X, which by my math is people who are 46-61. According to Pew’s latest findings, the majority of Americans are more concerned than excited, at 52%. Pew’s 2021 survey that used the same question found that 37% were more concerned than excited. The standout finding in the latest study according to Pew is that among adults under 30 years-old, 55% are more concerned than excited—the first time the youngs have been so pessimistic in this survey, but other, related surveys of young people have produced similar findings lately. But it’s the 50- to 64-year-olds I find the most interesting. They were the only group a majority of whom didn’t give the “more