As artificial intelligence continues to reshape industries across the United States, a new Pew Research Center survey reveals that Americans are largely skeptical of its expanding influence on news and journalism.
According to the summer 2024 poll, around half of U.S. adults believe AI will negatively affect the news Americans receive over the next 20 years. Specifically, 24% foresee a very negative impact, and 26% expect a somewhat negative effect. In contrast, just 10% anticipate any kind of positive outcome.
The outlook for journalism jobs is similarly grim. A majority (59%) of Americans think AI will lead to fewer jobs for journalists in the next two decades, while only 5% expect job growth in the field due to AI advancements.
Even among those who generally believe AI will have a positive effect on society, opinions on its role in news are mixed. Only 34% of this group say it will improve news quality, while nearly as many believe it will either have a negative effect (27%) or an even mix of positives and negatives (27%).
Concerns about misinformation are widespread, with 66% of respondents saying they are extremely or very worried about AI spreading inaccurate information. Only 19% think AI would outperform journalists in writing a news story today, while 41% believe it would do a worse job.
Interestingly, political affiliation had little impact on these views. Republicans and Democrats showed near-identical levels of concern about misinformation and similar skepticism about AI’s impact on journalism.
Educational background, however, played a larger role. Adults with college experience were more likely than those with less education to anticipate a negative effect on news and to say AI would perform worse than human journalists.
As AI becomes increasingly integrated into newsrooms, public trust in its role remains a significant hurdle for the future of media.
AI News Monitor 
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