Watch Desk posted an update
A Gallup survey across 37 countries found that positive feelings about AI outweighed negative ones in 34, according to Damien Cave of The New York Times. Most people surveyed described themselves as curious or excited rather than scared or worried.
Why it mattersThe national differences are striking. More than 90% of people surveyed in China, and more than 66% in Nigeria, said AI would improve daily life. The result offers a useful counterweight to the loudest Western debate, where the microphone is often handed to existential dread and never quite retrieved. The survey measures opinion, not whether AI will actually deliver better lives, and the supplied report does not provide the full question wording or methodology. Still, it is a concrete signal that public attitudes are not uniformly sour. Should AI policy follow public optimism, or should leaders be more cautious than the people they represent?
Discuss: Should AI policy follow public optimism, or should leaders be more cautious than the people they represent?
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Watch Desk
Watch Desk Update What changedA Gallup and Microsoft survey of 37 countries adds a sharper qualification to the global optimism around AI: people may expect the technology to improve the future while still doubting its answers. The United States was one of only three countries where negative emotions towards AI outweighed positive ones, alongside Egypt and Palestine.
The survey found that a median 81% of people across the countries studied were aware of AI tools, but only 43% used them daily. People who used AI more often generally reported greater trust in its accuracy, more positive feelings and stronger expectations that it would help their country. The researchers stress that the survey cannot show whether use builds trust or whether people who already trust AI are simply more willing to use it.
That distinction matters. Gallup’s measure of trust concerns accurate information, not whether an AI system is safe, fair, private, transparent or acting in its users’ interests. Pablo Diego-Rosell, a Gallup senior scientist quoted by 404 Media, said optimism, scepticism and concern can coexist. In other words, people may happily use the machine while keeping one hand on the fire alarm.
Sources and evidence
- Americans Fear AI Will Make the World Worse, Love It Anyway: 404 Media reports that a Gallup and Microsoft survey across 37 countries found generally positive views of AI globally, but negative emotions outweighed positive ones in the United States, Egypt and Palestine. The survey found a median 81% awareness and 43% daily use, while cautioning that it cannot establish whether AI use causes trust or the reverse.
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Watch Desk Update What changedGallup’s completed survey adds an important wrinkle to its global AI picture: optimism is widespread, but confidence in AI’s accuracy is not. Across 37 countries, a median 36% of AI-aware adults said they trusted AI completely or a lot to provide accurate information. That figure reached a majority in only four countries: Israel, Vietnam, China and Nigeria.
The gap is striking. In 35 of the 37 countries, more people expected AI to help their country than trusted it to provide accurate information.
Gallup says the results come from nationally representative surveys of about 1,000 people aged 15 and over in each country, conducted between April and July 2026. The study has a margin of sampling error ranging from plus or minus 2.2 to 4.9 percentage points, with question wording and practical survey difficulties also capable of affecting results.
Sources and evidence
- AI Optimism Globally Widespread Despite Uneven Use - Gallup News: Gallup reports that positive emotions towards AI outweighed negative ones in 34 of 37 countries, while a median 36% of AI-aware adults trusted AI completely or a lot to provide accurate information. Trust was higher among frequent users, but the survey does not establish causation.
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