Around the world, a love/hate attitude toward AI is very much the vibe right now.
A paradox sits at the heart of the AI boom: the same public that routinely expresses distrust, anxiety, and outright hostility toward artificial intelligence keeps reaching for it in record numbers. Surveys in 2026 continue to show deep unease about AI's impact on jobs, privacy, and truth — yet usage of AI-powered tools has never been higher.
The contradiction is not as irrational as it first appears. People are not embracing AI because they love it; they are adopting it because it is increasingly difficult to avoid. AI is embedded in search engines, workplace software, customer service, creative tools, and even the apps people use to relax. Opting out is now a conscious, effortful act rather than a default state.
That dynamic helps explain the intensity of the backlash. When a technology becomes both ubiquitous and mandatory, resentment grows alongside dependence. The result is a public that complains about AI while quietly relying on it every day — a tension that is shaping product design, regulation, and cultural conversation heading into the later half of the decade.
For companies, the lesson is clear: winning trust will require more than improving capability. It will require addressing the discomfort that comes with using something people never fully chose.