Rutgers-Led Survey Finds Low Support for Unsupervised AI Decisions

Americans are bringing AI into daily life far faster than they are willing to hand it authority over their lives. A Rutgers-led national survey found that 72% of U.S. adults have used a major AI tool, yet fewer than one in 10 would let AI make an unsupervised final decision on hiring, lending, college admissions, parole, or priority for a medical procedure.

The result is not a simple rejection of the technology. Twenty-seven percent of adults said they use AI every day. Among employed adults, 44% reported using it at work and 31% said their jobs require it. Reported use of major AI tools rose from 50% in November 2024 to 72% in the latest survey.

Help is more acceptable than final authority

The questionnaire distinguished assistance from AI acting alone. Thirty-four percent of respondents would allow AI to assist with hiring decisions without making the final call, while 26% would allow it to assist with parole decisions. Between 45% and 54% said AI should not be used at all in the surveyed consequential decisions.

Katherine Ognyanova, a Rutgers professor and report co-author, framed the gap as a difference between using an AI tool and trusting it fully. Half of respondents described themselves as worried about AI; that included 48% of daily users. The share who described themselves as angry rose from 19% in late 2024 to 30% in August 2026.

Where respondents want notice

• 76% said employers should disclose AI evaluations of workers or applicants.
• 76% wanted companies to disclose AI decisions about customers.
• 77% wanted schools to disclose AI evaluations of students.

Confidence does not match the knowledge test

The survey also found a knowledge gap that may shape those judgments. Fifty-nine percent said they understood the basics of how AI works, but respondents averaged 48% correct across 12 knowledge statements. Among daily users, 82% said they understood the basics while averaging 49% correct.

Views on whether AI acts in the public interest also shifted by party. In late 2024, 56% of Democrats expressed confidence, compared with 45% of Republicans; by August 2026, the figures were 44% and 56%, respectively. Overall confidence stayed at 46%, while majorities in both parties still favored strict regulation.

The National AI Opinion Monitor surveyed 5,154 U.S. adults online between July 5 and August 1, 2026. Researchers used a nonprobability sample with demographic quotas, then reweighted results across demographic and geographic characteristics. The study measures reported attitudes, not whether particular AI systems can safely or fairly make these decisions.