(The Lion) — While 1 in 5 Americans use AI for some of their professional work, more than half are concerned with the increased use of AI in daily life, according to multiple Pew Research surveys.

In a five-percentage point jump from 2024, 21% of Americans say they use AI for their professional work, Pew reports.

Of that 21%, only 2% say all or most of their work employs AI, while 19% say some of their work uses AI – a five-percentage point increase from the 14% in 2024.

Nearly two-thirds of workers (65%) say they don’t use AI in their job, and 12% say they have never heard of AI in the workplace – down five percentage points from 2024 (17%).

Of the 65% who don’t use AI in their job, 36% say at least some of their work could use AI if they so choose.

AI usage is much more common among college-educated, younger adults, Pew reports. Of AI users, 73% are younger than 50, while 65% of non-AI users are older than 65. The majority (62%) of those younger than 30 say they’ve read and heard much about AI, but only 32% of those older than 65 say the same.

Of those who don’t use AI, 61% have had some years of college or less education. More than 50% of those who use AI have at least a bachelor’s degree (51%), including 22% who have a postgraduate degree.

The most common jobs to use AI include data processing (63% of those who use AI), accounting, banking, finance, insurance or real estate (10% of those who use AI), and information and technology (12%).

Americans, however, are more concerned than excited about the use of AI and say it will “erode people’s ability to think creatively,” according to a recent Pew study.

Those concerned with the growth of AI usage (50%) increased 13 percentage points from 37% in 2021. Ten percent of Americans are more excited than concerned about the growth of AI, and 38% say they are equally excited and concerned.

In comparing the societal risks to benefits, 57% of Americans say the risks are high, while just 25% rate the benefits high. Those concerned (57% of all Americans) say AI will stall people’s ability to think creatively (53%), to form relationships (58%) and to problem solve (38%).

Only 16% of Americans believe AI will improve these skills, and 16% say AI will not affect such skills.

Six in 10 Americans say they’d like more control over AI usage in daily life. The tasks most Americans assign to AI include weather forecasting (74%), searching for financial crimes (70%), developing new medicines (66%) and identifying suspects (61%), while 46% say AI should provide mental health support.

AI has grown tremendously in relatively short time – a clear contrast to the introduction of the Internet in the 1980s. While Facebook gained 1 million users in 10 months, ChatGPT reached 1 million users five days after its launch, Axios reported in July.

AI could replace half of all entry-level white-collar jobs in the next five years, some predict

“Artificial Intelligence will evolve to become a superintelligence,” Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, said. “We need to be mindful of how it’s developed and ensure that it aligns with humanity’s best interests.”