Colleen McClain

Artificial intelligence is no longer a futuristic concept—it’s transforming everything from medicine to work to entertainment.

A broad majority of Americans have heard about data centers – the often-sprawling computing facilities that are popping up nationwide. But the public has mixed opinions about data centers’ impact in various areas. Attitudes are more negative than positive when it comes to these facilities’ impact on the environment, home energy costs and people’s quality of life nearby.

A broad majority of Americans have heard about data centers – the often-sprawling computing facilities that are popping up nationwide. But the public has mixed opinions about data centers’ impact in various areas, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

A majority of U.S. teens say they use AI chatbots, including about three-in-ten who do so daily. But what are they using them for? And how do they think artificial intelligence (AI) will impact their lives? Teens turn to chatbots like ChatGPT, Copilot and Character.ai for a variety of things – but information seeking and schoolwork help top the list, while “for fun” is not far behind: 

Findings on technology use and digital divides from Pew's 2025 survey include:

With artificial intelligence no longer the stuff of science fiction, its benefits and risks are being debated by everyone from casual observers to scholars.

It’s been more than a year since ChatGPT’s public debut set the tech world abuzz. And Americans’ use of the chatbot is ticking up: 23 percent of US adults say they have ever used it, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in February 2024, up from 18 percent in July 2023. The February survey also asked Americans about several ways they might use ChatGPT, including for workplace tasks, for learning and for fun.

In an era where every click, tap or keystroke leaves a digital trail, Americans remain uneasy and uncertain about their personal data and feel they have little control over how it’s used. This wariness is even ticking up in some areas like government data collection, according to a new Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted May 15-21, 2023. According to the study, Americans – particularly Republicans – have grown more concerned about how the government uses their data. The public increasingly says they don’t understand what companies are doing with their data.

Even prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, some teens faced problems completing their homework because they lacked a computer or internet access at home – a phenomenon often referred to as the “homework gap.” And as students

Pew Research Center released a sweeping report looking at how Americans have used the internet in the pandemic, how reliant they were on digital tools, and some of the struggles they have had as they tried to conduct many of the work-related, educational, social and community activities of their lives online. The headlines from the survey included: