There is significant discomfort among Americans with the idea of AI being used in their own health care. Yet many see promise for AI to help issues of bias in medical care.
Many Americans are aware of common ways they might encounter AI in daily life, though fewer are able to correctly identify each of the six common uses of AI in the survey. More broadly, the public remains more concerned than excited about the increasing use of AI in daily life.
Overall, 46% of Americans say the statement “public health officials were unprepared for the outbreak” describes their views extremely or very well, including similar shares of Republicans and Democrats.
Americans offer a lackluster evaluation of how the country has balanced priorities during the coronavirus outbreak. Fewer than half say the country has given the right amount of priority to the needs of K-12 students, public health or quality of life.
Black Americans hold multifaceted views when it comes to trust in medical research scientists: Majorities hold largely positive views of their competence, but express concern about the potential for misconduct.
Majorities of Americans say the United States should prioritize the development of renewable energy sources and take steps toward the country becoming carbon neutral by the year 2050. But just 31% want to phase out fossil fuels completely, and many foresee unexpected problems in a major transition to renewable energy.
Trust in scientists and medical scientists has fallen below pre-pandemic levels, with 29% of U.S. adults saying they have a great deal of confidence in medical scientists to act in the best interests of the public. This is down from 40% in November 2020 and 35% in January 2019, before COVID-19 emerged. Other prominent groups – including the military, police officers and public school principals – have also seen their ratings decline.