Racial and ethnic differences in how adults use and view AI

Asian adults in the United States use artificial intelligence chatbots at markedly higher rates than other racial and ethnic groups and are the only demographic whose views on AI's personal impact lean more positive than negative, according to a new Pew Research Center survey [1]. The survey found that 70% of Asian adults report using AI chatbots, compared with 49% of Hispanic adults, 49% of Black adults, and 46% of White adults [1]. Daily usage follows a similar pattern: 47% of Asian adults say they use chatbots daily, while the figure for U.S. adults overall stands at 24% [1]. Awareness of the technology is also highest among Asian adults, 68% of whom say they have heard a lot about AI chatbots, versus 41% of White adults [1]. The ways people deploy these tools diverge sharply by race. About two-thirds of Asian adults use chatbots to search for information, compared with 39% of White adults [1]. Among employed adults, 60% of Asian workers use chatbots for work tasks, a share that exceeds those of Hispanic, Black, and White workers [1]. Asian adults are also more likely to use the technology to create or edit images, seek medical advice, and get news [1]. These adoption gaps arrive amid broader concerns about how AI systems can perpetuate inequality. Algorithmic bias describes systematic and repeatable harms in computerized systems that can privilege one category over another, often reflecting pre-existing social biases of race, gender, and ethnicity [2]. The study of such bias has gained urgency as algorithms expand their role in organizing society, politics, and behavior [2]. Legal frameworks, including the European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act adopted in 2024, have only recently begun to address these issues [2]. Pew's data shows that Asian adults are the only racial or ethnic group in which positive expectations for AI's personal impact outweigh negative ones. Some 41% of Asian adults say AI will have a positive impact on them personally over the next 20 years, while 20% expect a negative impact [1]. For U.S. adults overall, 23% anticipate a positive personal impact and 31% a negative one [1]. On the question of AI's effect on society, 30% of Asian adults foresee a positive impact, compared with 15% of White adults and 15% of Black adults [1]. Despite these differences in outlook, majorities across all groups agree that AI is advancing too quickly. About 60% of Asian, White, and Hispanic adults hold that view, as do more than half of Black adults [1]. The ethics of artificial intelligence, including concerns over fairness, accountability, and transparency, have become central to discussions of AI regulation as systems increasingly influence human decision-making in areas such as healthcare, education, and criminal justice [5].