Fear of AI job losses now outweighs hope of new jobs, study finds

People’s view of a country and trust for its artificial intelligence (AI) regulation tend to be closely linked, Moira Fagan, senior researcher at the Pew Research Center and one of the authors of a new study on AI, told Euronews Next.

According to the report, in Bangladesh, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, people trust China more than the United States (US) or the European Union (EU) with AI governance.

And, taking into consideration the other seven middle-income countries where this question was asked, a median of 43% trust China to regulate AI, 35% trust the US and 34% trust the EU.

“Favourable views of China tend to be quite high in middle-income countries – and opinion has risen in many places since last year, likely contributing to some of the high marks we see for trust in China on this particular dimension,” Fagan said.

The report, which was built on a survey conducted between February and June 2026, polling over 50,000 people from 37 countries, also examines people’s opinions on AI’s impact on the job market.

Specifically, more people expect AI to lead to fewer jobs than to job creation, according to the study. A good share of respondents, though, also report uncertainty about the impact AI will have on the number of job opportunities.

The survey also shows that worries about job losses due to AI are particularly high in wealthier countries.

For instance, in Australia, South Korea and the US, around seven-in-ten adults or more believe AI will result in job loss over the next 20 years.

Similarly, richer countries are more concerned about AI increasing economic inequalities than middle-income ones, the report highlights.

According to Fagan, these tendencies appear to be linked to other data, including people’s familiarity with the technological tool.

“People in wealthier countries are more likely to say they have heard or read a lot about AI. And we also found that people with higher AI awareness are more likely to believe it will lead to job loss,” she told Euronews Next.

However, some high-income and middle-income nations are brought together by a shared thread: young adults aged 18 to 34 are more concerned about AI-related job loss than older generations. And this is the case for countries like Canada, France, Singapore, Sweden, Indonesia, India and Malaysia, according to the survey.

Opinion divides are less pronounced when it comes to the rise of AI in daily life. Across the 37 countries, a median of 37% are more concerned than excited, while 41% median are equally concerned and excited, the survey found.

Although the survey was conducted in the first half of 2026, its publication arrives at a very crucial moment for AI.

Leaders of major AI companies, including Sam Altman, Elon Musk and Dario Amodei, are increasingly concerned about the risks their AI creations pose to humanity and are calling for a slowdown in the pace of AI development.

President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, also backed the deceleration effort in her landmark State of the Union address to the European Parliament earlier this week. On this occasion, she also pledged closer safety cooperation with Canada, the UK, and other like-minded partners.