Surveys show people in China are more optimistic about AI than Americans

In short: Large surveys keep finding that people in China feel far more positive about AI than people in the United States.

What's going on

Recent survey results point to a wide gap in attitudes toward AI, which is short for artificial intelligence (software that can write, summarize, or make predictions). Across several polls, about 84% of respondents in China say they are excited about AI, compared with about 38% in the U.S. Reporting also finds higher levels of trust in AI in China than in the U.S., although the exact numbers change by poll.

The pattern shows up beyond simple “excitement.” Stanford’s 2025 AI Index reports that 83% of people surveyed in China said AI products and services are more beneficial than harmful, compared with 39% in the U.S. Earlier Stanford reporting found a similar split in 2022, with 78% in China versus 35% in the U.S.

Some coverage suggests the difference is not mainly because Americans use AI less, or because Chinese respondents think AI has no risks. Instead, Bloomberg and other reporting point to two beliefs: whether the benefits of AI will reach regular people, and whether there are believable checks on the technology (like rules and enforcement that keep powerful companies in line). It is a bit like how people feel about a new highway, optimism rises if they think most drivers will benefit and there are speed limits that get enforced.

What to watch

Watch whether trust changes as AI affects everyday work and services. In the U.S., concerns often focus on job losses in office work, privacy, misinformation, and too much power in a few big tech firms. In China, optimism may depend on whether people continue to feel that technology improves daily life and that oversight is effective.

Source: NYTimes