Americans anticipate economic growth from AI, yet doubt its job-creating potential

The first release of the Axios-CivicScience AI Sentiment Index reveals that Americans are optimistic about AI's potential to boost the economy, though they remain skeptical about its ability to create jobs. The index, released on Friday, tracks public sentiment across six areas, including AI's impact on quality of life, society, jobs, economic growth, and support for AI development. Data was collected from October 1–26, with over 7,300 respondents aged 18+. October's net sentiment score was 41.8 on a 0–100 scale, indicating broad negativity toward AI. Despite a positive economic growth sentiment of +10, the sentiment around job creation was -30.4, highlighting a significant gap between collective expectations and individual perceptions. The index will be released monthly starting in December.