AI: Americans have ‘profound connection between paychecks and human purpose’

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(The Center Square) – More jobs will be eliminated than created by artificial intelligence, say 83% of American adults in a new study from Elon University’s Imagining the Digital Future Center.

The study, "The Meaning of Work in the AI Age," found 65% say less meaningful work would erode people’s purpose and dignity; 81% said paid work is extremely or very important to their family role; and 68% expect jobs to pay too poorly for a decent lifestyle. “Americans,” the report says, “fear AI will hollow out the meaning of work – and threaten people’s sense of well-being.”

“This new survey reveals a profound connection between paychecks and human purpose,” said Lee Rainie, director of the Imagining the Digital Future Center and author of the report alongside Janna Anderson. “As workers and other citizens consider the meaning and future of work in the age of artificial intelligence, they make clear how much they believe is at stake. To Americans, the test of the AI economy will not be only how much productive it becomes. It will be whether people can still find economically secure, socially valued and personally meaningful ways to contribute.”

The survey was conducted in conjunction with SSRS on its Opinion Panel Omnibus platform, weighted to target the population of U.S. adults ages 18 and older. From 1,158 respondents Aug. 20-24, the sample of workers is 775 either full-time or part-time. The margin of error is +/- 3.4% and the confidence level 95%.

Findings were presented Tuesday in Charlotte at the Tech Rising Summit in Charlotte.

Only 11% of workers are confident in government agencies if AI significantly affects their jobs, and 58% have little or no confidence.

“People have little faith that businesses, schools and communities will step up to effectively assist them in the AI transition, and they understand the limits of individual effort in the face of revolutionary technological change that removes them from the work equation,” said Anderson, senior researcher at the ITDF Center. “This institutional confidence gap is a warning: Telling workers to adapt rings hollow when human systems remain rooted in the past and do not invest in the human future. They want to see institutions investing now in building the resilience infrastructure needed to support and advance human flourishing in the Age of AI.”

The survey found 49% believe local government leaders are unprepared for changes in the job market that are coming compared to 23% saying they are prepared. On whether local employers are prepared, 43% of respondents say they are unprepared compared to 26% saying they are prepared.

And for K-12 schools, only 24% say a good job is being done preparing students for a world increasingly using artificial intelligence.

By consensus, artificial intelligence is defined as computer systems, software or processes that can emulate aspects of human work and cognition. On Sept. 29, second-term Republican President Donald Trump issued an executive order dropping the term in favor of super intelligence.

His order says in part, “The terminology used by the federal government should reflect the transformative capabilities of these technologies and the limitless opportunities they create for the American people.” Researchers and critics from within the field say “superintelligence” has historically described hypothetical, future artificial intelligence that surpasses human intelligence in all areas rather than current language models.

Trump last week said anyone using “artificial intelligence” as opposed to “super intelligence” is an “enemy” of the White House. Part of his reasoning is “use of the word artificial makes intelligence fake.”

Elon Musk, who changed SpaceXAI’s name to SpaceXSI, and Jeff Bezos backed the terminology change.