A majority of American workers expect artificial intelligence to worsen labor conditions by eliminating jobs and increasing workload demands, according to an Ipsos survey conducted on behalf of The Groundwork Collaborative.
The poll, conducted between June 11 and June 16, 2026, sampled 1,533 employed and job-seeking adults across the United States. It revealed a distinct divide in how different segments of the workforce currently use and view AI technology.
While three in ten workers report using AI tools at least once a week, regular adoption remains concentrated among higher earners, white-collar employees, and college graduates.
Roughly half of respondents earning $100,000 or more annually, as well as half of those holding a bachelor’s degree or working white-collar jobs, use AI tools at least a few times per month. In contrast, one-quarter or fewer of blue-collar workers, individuals earning under $50,000, and those with a high school education or less use AI with the same frequency.
Despite these varying usage rates, concern about the broader impact of AI on working conditions is widespread. Two-thirds of respondents expect AI to make the overall worker experience worse rather than better. Rather than viewing the technology as a helper that frees up time from routine chores, most workers anticipate that AI will eliminate job positions and increase daily pressure on remaining staff. This negative outlook remained uniform across racial, gender, educational, and income groups.
Views on how AI will affect individual careers, however, split sharply along educational lines. Nearly half of workers with a college degree believe AI will help them perform their duties and improve their specific job. By comparison, only one in five workers with a high school education or less expressed the same optimism.
The survey also noted higher levels of concern among people looking for work. Unemployed respondents were more likely to report that AI is already having a negative effect on their line of work.
The Ipsos study was administered online using the probability-based KnowledgePanel, designed to represent adults aged 18 to 75 who are employed or marginally attached to the labor force. The survey holds a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.
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