Comment by frm88 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by frm88 | Hacker News Reader

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https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2025/09/17/how-americans...

That's only one article and with only a small focus: Americans only.

U.S. adults are generally pessimistic about AI’s effect on people’s ability to think creatively and form meaningful relationships: 53% say AI will worsen people’s ability to think creatively, compared with 16% who say it will improve this....

Regarding your skepticism about the loss of trust: https://publicpolicy.cornell.edu/masters-blog/what-americans...

One of the most consistent themes in the research is fear of misinformation. In an era where AI-generated content can be nearly indistinguishable from authentic material, the potential for deception is enormous, and people know it. A full 76% of Americans say they are concerned about AI tools producing false or misleading information.

That doesn’t say anything about pushing people away from using products with AI though. People are enormously negative about the effects of social media, and yet social media use is incredibly pervasive and sticky.

I thought that the loss of trust would be self-explanatory in that regard? You don't buy stuff you don't trust, yes?

Anyways: https://futurism.com/the-byte/study-consumers-turned-off-pro...

Researchers have found that including the words “artificial intelligence” in product marketing is a major turn-off for consumers, suggesting a growing backlash and disillusionment with the tech — and that startups trying to cram “AI” into their product are actually making a grave error.

My point is that what people say and what people do are not the same thing. It may sound self-explanatory that if people don’t trust AI, they will avoid AI products, but I’m interested in data proving this. Self-reported attitudes regarding AI are not the same as customers actively avoiding products using AI.

I agree with your observation re. what people say/do. However, you know just as well as I do, that there's never studies/data of people avoiding stuff. How would you even go about proving a negative? So, let's turn this around: can you show me data that confirms people are enthusiastic to buy AI enhanced things? Data that confirm people's widespread acceptance and/or even preference of AI enhanced commodities?

There is no need for us random civilians to know the truth of these matters. Employees inside the company can see analytics that show whether the features are working or not.

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