What Americans Think About the Global AI Race
A Pew Research Center survey finds that 36% of Americans believe China is more advanced in AI than the U.S., while only 12% think the U.S. leads. 43% say it is extremely or very important for the U.S. to be the world leader in AI, and 51% expect AI to increase the gap between rich and poor countries.
An AI sign at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai in July 2024. (Ying Tang/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
By a three-to-one margin, Americans are more likely to say that China, not the United States, is more advanced when it comes to developing artificial intelligence. However, many U.S. adults say they’re not sure who is more advanced, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
As the U.S. and China compete for AI dominance, 43% of Americans say it is extremely or very important that the U.S. is the world’s leader in developing AI. Another 22% say this is not too or not at all important.
And as concerns persist about the winners and losers of a global AI race, 51% of Americans say that AI will increase the gap between rich and poor countries overall.
These are among the findings from a survey of 3,488 adults conducted in June.
About this research
This Pew Research Center analysis explores Americans’ views of global artificial intelligence development. It includes how Americans gauge the importance of the United States leading in AI development; whether the U.S. or China is more advanced when it comes to AI; and whether AI will increase or decrease inequality between countries.
Why did we do this?
Pew Research Center does research to help the public, media and decision-makers understand important topics. This research adds to the Center’s long-standing research on artificial intelligence and the balance of power between the U.S. and China.
Learn more about Pew Research Center.
How did we do this?
We surveyed U.S. adults from June 22 to 28, 2026. Everyone who took these surveys is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel. The surveys represent the views of the full U.S. adult population.
Here are our survey questions, detailed responses and methodology.
Is the U.S. or China more advanced in developing AI?
More Americans think that China is further advanced than the U.S. when it comes to developing AI (36%) than say the U.S. is more advanced than China (12%). Another 18% say the two countries are about equally advanced. And 33% are not sure which nation is more advanced in developing AI.
More Americans think China is the leader in developing AI than say this of the U.S., but a third are not sure