People really hate AI, so why can’t they get enough?

Over the summer, I spoke with the CEO of Springboards, a startup developing an LLM designed to offer a wider variety of responses than its mainstream competitors. At the outset of our conversation, he shared a thought that has resonated with me ever since: “We often say that we’re a self-loathing AI company. We don’t know if we really like what we’re doing.” “I guess that makes me a self-loathing AI journalist,” I quipped in return. It was a joke, of course; I genuinely love my job. However, I find myself less enamored with many aspects of the technology I cover, which has become warped by hype, steered by zealots, and increasingly inescapable. The CEO of Springboards and I are far from alone in this sentiment. Globally, a distinct love/hate relationship with AI is currently the prevailing mood. On one hand, public opinion is rapidly deteriorating. According to the Pew Research Center, more adults in the US now believe AI will have a negative impact on them personally and on society at large, rather than a positive one. This pessimism is particularly pronounced among younger demographics. A report from Stanford University indicates that over half of people worldwide feel nervous about AI products and services. Furthermore, a Gallup poll in May revealed that 71% of US adults would oppose the construction of a new AI data center in their vicinity, a figure significantly higher than the 53% who would oppose a new nuclear power plant. An NBC poll in March even found AI to be less popular than the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE). Yet, despite this widespread aversion, the number of people actively using AI continues to surge dramatically. ChatGPT, for instance, reached a billion monthly users in May, as reported by market analysis firm Sensor Tower. Google DeepMind’s Gemini is not far behind, logging 950 million users in July. Pew Research also notes that half of US adults now report using a chatbot, more than double the number from 2023, with one in four doing so daily. This isn't just a US trend; over a third of adults across all 38 OECD countries (a group of the world’s wealthiest democracies) have reported using generative AI tools in the last three months. These surveys collectively paint a picture of a profound paradox: a technology increasingly viewed with suspicion and apprehension, yet simultaneously embraced and integrated into daily life on an unprecedented scale.