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# 48% of US adults expect AI to harm decision-making skills by 2035, against 30% of AI experts
- URL: https://aiadoption.org/data/us-adults-vs-experts-ai-effect-human-capacities-2035/
- Published: 2026-10-19T16:56:39.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-21T06:04:05.000Z
- Description: US adults are more negative than AI experts about AI's effect on 9 of 12 human capacities by 2035. The widest gap is on decision-making (48% vs 30%); 55% of adults expect harm to social and emotional intelligence.
- Author: Manu
- Tags: Data, Public Opinion on AI, AI in the US, #chart, #ai-index-2026, #hub-opinion, #country-us

18 pts

Gap between US adults (48%) and AI experts (30%) expecting AI to harm decision-making and problem-solving by 2035, the widest of 12 capacities

Decision-making

US adults48%

AI experts30%

## What the chart shows

In Elon University’s 2025 survey, US adults were more likely than AI experts to expect AI to do more harm than good by 2035 to 9 of 12 human capacities. The largest gaps are for decision-making and problem-solving (48% vs 30%), metacognition, the ability to think about one’s own thinking (53% vs 36%), and innovative thinking and creativity (45% vs 30%).

Social and emotional intelligence draws the most concern from both groups: 55% of adults and 50% of experts. Experts are more negative than adults on three: trust in shared values and norms (48% vs 41%), confidence in one’s own abilities (48% vs 43%) and mental well-being (45% vs 42%).

## Key numbers

| Measure                                         | Value |
| ----------------------------------------------- | ----- |
| Decision-making and problem-solving, US adults  | 48%   |
| Decision-making and problem-solving, AI experts | 30%   |
| Metacognition, US adults                        | 53%   |
| Metacognition, AI experts                       | 36%   |
| Social and emotional intelligence, US adults    | 55%   |
| Social and emotional intelligence, AI experts   | 50%   |

## How to read it

- Elon University’s Imagining the Digital Future Center surveyed 1,005 US adults on 17–20 July 2025 and compares them with experts; the AI Index labels that group AI experts.
- The AI Index text gives 51% (adults) and 34% (experts) for social and emotional intelligence, and 55% and 53% for mental well-being. The data file and the report’s chart show 55% and 50%, and 42% and 45%, which we use.

**Source:** [Elon University](https://aiadoption.org/sources/#elon-being-human-2035), 2025, via the AI Index Report 2026 (Stanford HAI), figure 9.2.2: *Impact of AI on key human capacities and traits: general public vs. experts*. Chart and text by AI Adoption.  
Numbers checked against the published data on 20 October 2026.  
[Download the data (CSV)](https://charts.aiadoption.org/ai-index/csv/us-adults-vs-experts-ai-effect-human-capacities-2035.csv?ref=aiadoption.org) · [Cite this chart](#source)