Nebraskans wary of risks surrounding artificial intelligence

Americans are grappling with artificial intelligence — from its lightning-fast development to the construction of data centers to support it — and becoming more skeptical of its benefits.

Nebraskans are leery, too.

According to the new Nebraska Snapshot, most Nebraskans — nearly three in four — rated the risks of AI for society as high or very high. Additionally, less than one in five Nebraskans surveyed rated the benefits as high or very high.

The Nebraska Snapshot is reported from the Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey, an annual review of the state's adults fielded by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Bureau of Sociological Research.

Forty percent of respondents rated the benefits of AI as medium, and 31% rated the benefits as low or very low, while 11% said they were unsure. 

Younger respondents and those with more education were slightly more confident about the benefits of AI, as 21% of those 19-64 rated the benefits as high or very high, while only 11% of those 65 and older said the same. Similarly, 24% of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher rated the benefits of AI as high or very high, in contrast to only 19% of those with some college or less.

However, younger Nebraskans were also more wary about the risks, as 78% of respondents 19-64 rated the risks of AI as very high or high, compared to only 65% of those 65 and older.