Democrats are now more worried about AI than Republicans, and it's partly because Republicans relaxed
Pew has asked the same question since 2021, and the party lines have finally crossed: Republican concern is falling while everyone else's climbs.
On September 16, 2026, Pew Research Center published a short read showing the two American parties swapping places on AI. The Democratic line crossed the Republican one, and it happened on both questions Pew asks.
56% of Democrats said they are "more concerned than excited" about AI's increased use in daily life. Among Republicans it's 49%.
- Published
- September 16, 2026
- Democrats concerned
- 56%
- Republicans concerned
- 49%
- Fielded
- June 22 to 28, 2026
- Sample
- 3,488 U.S. adults, American Trends Panel
For the first time, Democrats are now more likely than Republicans to be concerned about the growing role of artificial intelligence in daily life and its potential to take jobs.
Which side moved
Both of them did, in opposite directions. Democratic concern went from 46% in 2023 to 56% now, and it's up 25 percentage points since 2021. Republican concern has fallen 10 points since 2023 (Pew has been asking the same question the whole time).
Split the parties by ideology and both moves get steeper.
Among liberal Democrats, concern about the increased use of AI rose from 45% in 2023 to 63% today. During the same period, it dropped 14 percentage points among conservative Republicans.
What surprised me is the direction of that second line. Concern has been climbing in the country as a whole, from 37% in 2021 to about half of US adults now, and the Democratic share has climbed 25 points over those five years. Among conservative Republicans it has been going the other way since 2023.
The jobs question
The same crossover shows up on work. 75% of Democrats expect AI to lead to fewer jobs over the next 20 years, against 68% of Republicans.
That one is a single party moving while the other stands still. The Democratic share is up 17 percentage points, and Pew says Republicans' views on this "have changed little".
What the short read leaves out
Pew doesn't say why either line moved. The short read gives the shares and the field dates, and it stops there.
This is one question about a feeling, asked once a year, and it measures nothing anybody has actually done about AI. Granted, it's the same question every time, which is what makes the crossing legible at all. Everyone answering is on the Center's American Trends Panel, and Pew says the survey represents the views of the full US adult population.
The survey closed on June 28, 2026. Dario Amodei's essay asking the industry to slow down went up on September 12, eleven weeks after that, so none of the argument the labs have been having in public is inside these numbers.