A recent scientific study shows that the way people think about artificial intelligence (AI) and jobs can influence how they feel about democracy and how much they take part in politics. This research was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The researchers wanted to understand whether public views about AI replacing jobs affect people’s trust in democratic systems. To find out, they looked at data from a large survey of more than 37,000 people across 38 European countries. They also carried out more controlled experiments with representative samples in the United Kingdom and the United States.
What People Believe About AI and Work
The study found that many people in Europe believe that AI will destroy more jobs than it creates, even though AI’s actual impact on employment so far has been limited. This belief is widespread and relatively stable across countries.
According to the study, people’s perceptions — what they think AI will do to jobs — had a clear connection to their political attitudes. Those who believed AI was mainly going to replace human workers also tended to: feel less satisfied with the way democracy works and be less willing to participate in political discussions, especially about technology and future policies.
These associations were not just correlations. The researchers were able to show a causal link by using experiments. In these experiments, some participants were shown information that framed AI as a job creator, while others saw information framing AI as a job killer. Those exposed to the negative framing — where AI was presented as replacing jobs — showed lower trust in democratic institutions and less interest in being politically active compared with those shown the positive framing.
Why This Matters
This study highlights that public perception alone — even before major economic changes occur — can influence political attitudes. If people increasingly believe that new technologies like AI threaten their economic security, they may become more cynical about political systems and less likely to engage in civic processes.
The findings also suggest there is a role for communication and education: because these beliefs can be changed by how the topic is presented, politicians, educators, and media might help shape more accurate public views. This could strengthen democratic engagement rather than weaken it.
Editor of Daily 27.
Predoctoral researcher at the Department of Sociology in University of Barcelona.