Majority in 34 of 37 Countries Say AI Will Cost Jobs, Pew Survey Finds

Topic: technologyRegion: north americaUpdated: i2 outletsSources: 4Spectrum: Center Only⏱ 2 min read📡 Wire pickup

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Story Summary

SITUATION

Pew Research found that in 34 of 37 countries surveyed people are more likely to believe AI will cause job losses than create jobs over the next 20 years (per theverge.com). The survey polled 42,151 people across 37 countries between February 8 and May 13 and was conducted before recent apocalyptic warnings about AI (per theverge.com).

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KEY FACTS

In 34 of the 37 countries, people were more likely to say AI will cause job losses than create jobs over the next 20 years (per theverge.com).
The fieldwork for the survey ran from February 8 to May 13 (per theverge.com).
The survey was completed before recent high-profile apocalyptic warnings about AI were made public (per theverge.com).

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

The immediate backdrop is the active U.S.–Israel military campaign against Iran that began with coordinated strikes in March 2026, an escalation rooted in months of rising tensions over Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and sanctions enforcement.

Structurally, those tensions have been shaped by the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreed July 14, 2015, the United States’ withdrawal from that deal on May 8, 2018, and successive rounds of sanctions administered by the U.S. Treasury and international partners thereafter.

Brief

Pew Research’s new global survey found broad public pessimism about artificial intelligence’s impact on employment: respondents in 34 of 37 countries said AI is more likely to cause job losses than create jobs (per theverge.com).

Pew polled 42,151 people across 37 countries, with fieldwork conducted from February 8 to May 13, and the organization notes the fieldwork concluded before a wave of high-profile, apocalyptic warnings about AI (per theverge.com).

That sequence — poll then warnings — matters because it limits how much immediate media events influenced the responses, even as public debate about AI intensified afterward. Pew’s headline finding captures widespread anxiety about AI-driven disruption in labor markets rather than confidence in AI as a net job creator (per theverge.com).

The data do not appear in the source to break down which industries or worker groups expect the worst outcomes, nor does the provided excerpt specify demographic splits or country-by-country percentages; Pew’s topline instead emphasizes a global pattern of skepticism (per theverge.com).

Analysts and policymakers will read the survey as a mandate to address worker displacement: if majorities across diverse countries expect job losses, governments and employers face pressure to invest in retraining, income supports, and regulation of how firms deploy automation — though theverge.com excerpt does not record Pew’s policy prescriptions or whether respondents favored particular responses (per theverge.com).

For now, the clearest, documented takeaway is political and economic: large majorities around the world anticipate AI will shrink employment opportunities over the next 20 years, and that expectation preceded the most recent alarmist commentary on AI futures (per theverge.com).

Why it matters

Workers in 34 of 37 countries: they reported expecting job losses from AI, indicating a concrete risk of widespread displacement for employed and soon-to-be-employed people if automation accelerates (per theverge.com).
Policymakers and employers: they will bear pressure to fund retraining and social supports because the survey signals public demand for mitigation measures against AI-driven job loss (per theverge.com).
Public opinion as a policy lever: the finding that skepticism is global and predated recent warnings strengthens calls for regulation of AI deployment by national governments (per theverge.com).

What to watch next

Whether Pew Research or national statistical agencies publish country-by-country breakdowns and demographic splits from the survey, which would specify which occupations and age groups expect the steepest job loss risks (per theverge.com).
Whether governments cited in the survey introduce retraining, income-support, or AI deployment regulations within the next 12 months in response to public concern (per theverge.com).
Whether follow-up polls after the recent high-profile AI warnings show a measurable increase in the share of respondents expecting job losses compared with the February 8–May 13 fieldwork (per theverge.com).

Where sources differ

7 dimensions

Framing differences

Only theverge.com is available in this pack; no alternative outlets to compare framing differences.

Disputed or unclear

Theverge.com excerpt does not provide country-level percentages, demographic breakdowns, or industry-specific projections, leaving those specifics unverified.

Omitted context

No source in this pack names which 37 countries were surveyed or which three countries did not show greater belief that AI will cause job losses.
No source in this pack provides demographic splits (age, education, occupation) needed to identify which worker groups feel most at risk.
No source in this pack links the survey findings to specific policy proposals, government responses, or employer actions.

Conflicting figures

Only one figure appears: 42,151 respondents across 37 countries (per theverge.com). No alternative figures are provided.

Disputed causality

Theverge.com notes the survey was completed before recent apocalyptic warnings, implying sequence but not claiming the warnings caused any change in public opinion.

Attribution disputes