The Great AI Divide: Who's Excited About AI (and Who Isn't)

Ipsos surveyed more than 23,500 people across 32 countries to publish its 2026 AI Monitor report, which found a world roughly split between excitement and nervousness about AI. 54% of respondents said AI-powered products and services have already profoundly changed their daily lives, while 66% expect them to do so over the coming few years.

Ipsos found 62% of workers said AI has saved them time in their job over the past year, but there is nonetheless concern about its long-term impact. The survey found many workers hold both “wonder” and “worry” feelings about the technology.

Why are some countries nervous about AI while others are excited?

Respondents in much of Asia and Latin America tend to be more excited about AI, while North America and Europe skew more nervous. Ipsos argues that the distinction may have less to do with whether a country is rich or poor and more to do with attitudes toward the status quo.

In countries where people believe AI can help create a better economy, excitement tends to be higher, while more established economies appear more concerned about what could be disrupted. In other words, AI can look less like a threat when it is viewed as an opportunity to catch up than when it is viewed as something capable of upending an already-established system.

Increased NIMBYism in North America: Communities are pushing back over electricity costs, water consumption, noise, backup generators, land use and the relatively small number of permanent jobs created by facilities that can require hundreds of megawatts of power.

The backlash is becoming increasingly political, with New York proposing that new data centers make community investments of at least $1 million per megawatt, while the US House advanced legislation this week requiring state regulators to consider whether large electricity users should bear more of the infrastructure costs they create.

The growth of data centers

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimates that American data centers consumed 192 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2024, nearly triple the level in 2014. Its latest analysis projects 649 terawatt-hours by 2030, equivalent to 11.8% of total US electricity consumption.