Stanford Report Highlights Growing Disconnect Between AI Insiders and Everyone Else
- Reference: 0181695032
- News link: https://slashdot.org/story/26/04/14/0038207/stanford-report-highlights-growing-disconnect-between-ai-insiders-and-everyone-else
- Source link:
> AI experts and the public's opinion on the technology are increasingly diverging, [1]according to Stanford University's [2]annual report on the AI industry, which was [3]released Monday. In particular, the report noted a [4]growing trend of anxiety around AI and, in the U.S. , concerns about how the technology will impact key societal areas, such as jobs, medical care, and the economy. [...] Stanford's report provides more insight into where all this negativity is coming from, as it summarizes data around public sentiment of AI across various sources. For instance, it pointed to a [5]report from Pew Research published last month, which noted that only 10% of Americans said they were more excited than concerned about the increased use of AI in daily life. Meanwhile, 56% of AI experts said they believed AI would have a positive impact on the U.S. over the next 20 years.
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> Expert opinion and public sentiment also greatly diverged in particular areas where AI could have a societal impact. Indeed, 84% of experts, the report authors noted, said that AI would have a largely positive impact on medical care over the next 20 years, but only 44% of the U.S. general public said the same. Plus, a majority (73%) of experts felt positive about AI's impact on how people do their jobs, compared with just 23% of the public. And 69% of experts felt that AI would have a positive impact on the economy. Given the supposed AI-fueled layoffs and disruptions to the workplace, it's not surprising that only 21% of the public felt similarly. Other data from Pew Research, cited by the report, noted that AI experts were less pessimistic on AI's impact on the job market, while nearly two-thirds of Americans (or 64%) said they think AI will lead to fewer jobs over the next 20 years.
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> The U.S. also reported the lowest trust in its government to regulate AI responsibly, compared with other nations, at 31%. Singapore ranked highest at 81%, per data pulled from Ipsos found in Stanford's report. Another source looked at regulation concerns on a state-by-state level and concluded that, nationwide, 41% of respondents said federal AI regulation will not go far enough, while only 27% said it would go "too far." Despite the fears and concerns, AI did get one accolade: Globally, those who feel like AI products and services offer more benefits than drawbacks slightly rose from 55% in 2024 to 59% in 2025. But at the same time, those respondents who said that AI makes them "nervous" grew from 50% to 52% during the same period, per data cited by the report's authors.
[1] https://hai.stanford.edu/ai-index/2026-ai-index-report/public-opinion
[2] https://hai.stanford.edu/ai-index/2026-ai-index-report/
[3] https://hai.stanford.edu/news/inside-the-ai-index-12-takeaways-from-the-2026-report?utm_source=chatgpt.com
[4] https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/13/stanford-report-highlights-growing-disconnect-between-ai-insiders-and-everyone-else/
[5] https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/03/12/key-findings-about-how-americans-view-artificial-intelligence/
Nervous about AI? (Score:2)
There's a nice [1]Mastodon post [programming.dev] I think is worth quoting here;
> For years I've been hearing that "One day AI will be smarter than humans and we'll all be doomed." "Nonsense," I said. "AI is very stupid, and not getting noticeably smarter." And I was right. But I didn't think about the fact that there were two ways that prophecy could be fulfilled.
[1] https://bytes.programming.dev/notes/a3kg3ue4aq0d44nb
Not surprising (Score:2)
This isn't really surprising.
The "AI experts" (oof) are the people who are best poised to reap any economic rewards either through being in tech pushing AI, or being otherwise invested (personally or financially) in AI succeeding. These include the people who magically think that productivity gains will benefit workers, as opposed to owners, which ignores 100 years of productivity-gain data.
The "non-AI-experts" are presumably regular workers who see the C-suite and owners salivating at AI as the fastes
AI is useful but (Score:2)
AI is useful, without a doubt. There are times when it makes me feel good.
The noise added to my life by AI slop that I am now forced to filter through is extremely irritating.
On average I would say the irritation happens more times per day than the enjoyable moments.
Re: (Score:2)
In contrast, while the frustration with low-quality or excessive AI-generated content is completely valid, it might be worth considering that this “noise” is partly a side effect of how quickly the technology is evolving and being adopted. The imbalance you’re feeling—more irritation than enjoyment—often reflects how platforms and people are still figuring out how to use AI responsibly and meaningfully. Over time, as filters improve and norms around quality settle, the signal-t
Re: (Score:2)
“Hell is—other people's LLMs!” -- Jean-Paul Sartre, No Exit