Results from the first Anthropic Public Record

Overview

Anthropic released results from the first wave of the Anthropic Public Record, a national survey of US attitudes toward AI. The survey was fielded in November and December of 2025 with nearly 52,000 Americans, sourced from YouGov and weighted to US Census benchmarks. The headline finding is that Americans are eager to realize AI's benefits but fear its disruption, and they want accountability from the companies building it. Notably, views did not split sharply along partisan, geographic, or educational lines.

Key Takeaways

Nearly half (48%) of Americans ranked curing diseases like cancer or Alzheimer's among their top three hopes for AI, the most selected option.
AI-induced job loss was the most common fear in every state, held by 64% of Americans.
Over 70% of those surveyed believe the government should play a role in regulating AI, with bipartisan support.
Only 15% of Americans said they trust AI companies to make decisions about how AI is developed and used.
On most questions, attitudes did not divide along partisan, geographic, or educational lines; disagreement was mostly in the intensity of views.

Stats & Key Facts

#Nearly 52,000 Americans surveyed (51,993), fielded November-December 2025.
#48% ranked curing disease among their top three hopes; helping people with disabilities was second at 36%.
#64% named AI-induced job loss as a fear; cognitive dependency 56%; misinformation 52%.
#Over 70% want the government to play a role in regulating AI.
#Only 15% trust AI companies to make decisions about AI development and use.
#State samples ranged from n=232 (Alaska) to n=1,902 (New York), with margins of error between plus or minus 2.6 and 9.1 percentage points.

What the Anthropic Public Record is

The survey is a new, recurring effort to gauge public opinion on AI.

›It is a national survey of attitudes and opinions toward AI.
›The first wave was fielded in November and December of 2025.
›It is designed to be repeated regularly and to evolve in scope over time.

The Anthropic Public Record is a new survey series from Anthropic created to understand how the public thinks and feels about AI. This first wave is described as a snapshot of results. Anthropic plans to repeat the survey regularly so it can track how public attitudes change as model capabilities advance and adoption deepens, and it plans to expand outside the US in the future.

What Americans hope AI will deliver

Respondents chose their top three hopes from a list of 17.

›Curing disease topped the list at 48%, twelve percentage points ahead of the next item.
›Helping people with disabilities was second at 36%.
›Making technological progress and making life easier tied at 23%.
›Hopes like therapy and reducing loneliness ranked lowest.

When asked to pick their top three hopes for AI from a list of 17 options, Americans most often chose curing diseases such as cancer or Alzheimer's. Items that involve AI substituting for human contact, such as therapy and reducing loneliness, were the lowest ranked of the options presented.

What Americans fear

Respondents reviewed a list of 20 possible harms.

›Job loss was the most common fear in every state, held by 64%.
›Cognitive dependency was second at 56%.
›Misinformation was third at 52%.
›Respondents flagged each harm they felt concerned by and rated it on a five-point worry scale.

Anthropic gave respondents a list of 20 possible harms from AI and asked them to flag each one they felt personally concerned by, then rate it on a five-point scale of how worried they were. Job loss led the list of fears across the country, followed by cognitive dependency and misinformation.

Demand for government involvement and accountability

Support for regulation and corporate accountability was high and broad.

›Over 70% believe the government should play a role in regulating AI, with bipartisan support.
›People most wanted government action on privacy (56%), child safety (52%), and liability for harm (49%).
›Holding AI companies legally liable for harm (47%) and prioritizing safety over growth (44%) ranked highest for ensuring AI benefits humanity.
›Only 15% said they trust AI companies to make decisions about how AI is developed and used.

Support for government intervention in AI was high and crossed party lines. When asked what would best ensure AI benefits humanity, respondents ranked legal liability for harm and prioritizing safety over growth as the highest-impact actions, while expressing low trust in AI companies to make those decisions on their own.

Limited partisan and demographic division

The survey found broad consensus across many topics.

›On most questions, AI did not heavily divide Americans by party, geography, or education.
›Where disagreement appeared, it was largely in the intensity of views.
›The overall pattern: eager for benefits, fearful of disruption, wanting accountability.

Strikingly, the survey reports that AI did not split Americans along the usual partisan, geographic, or educational lines. Anthropic describes a broad consensus: Americans want AI's benefits, fear its disruption, and want the companies building it to be accountable.

How the survey was conducted

The method is summarized in brief and detailed in an appendix.

›It was a nationally representative online survey of 51,993 Americans.
›Respondents were sourced from YouGov and weighted to US Census benchmarks.
›State samples ranged from n=232 in Alaska to n=1,902 in New York.
›State-level margins of error fell between plus or minus 2.6 and 9.1 percentage points.

The first wave was a nationally representative online survey conducted in November and December of 2025. Anthropic notes this builds on related work, including a global qualitative study of 81,000 Claude users through its Anthropic Interviewer tool and the Anthropic Economic Index, which draws on anonymized Claude usage data. The Public Record is the first time Anthropic has surveyed the general public, including non-users of AI.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many people were surveyed?

Nearly 52,000 Americans (51,993) took part, sourced from YouGov and weighted to US Census benchmarks.

What is the top hope Americans have for AI?

Curing diseases like cancer or Alzheimer's, which 48% of respondents ranked in their top three.

What do Americans fear most about AI?

AI-induced job loss was the most common fear in every state, held by 64% of respondents.

Do Americans trust AI companies?

Only 15% said they trust AI companies to make decisions about how AI is developed and used, and over 70% want a government role in regulating AI.

Will Anthropic run this survey again?

Yes. The Anthropic Public Record is meant to be repeated regularly, with plans to expand beyond the US in the future.

The first Anthropic Public Record shows Americans broadly want AI's benefits while demanding accountability and oversight from the companies building it.