This came up on a thread last week. I participate in a couple communities like this, and then my other major community is local politics (a seriously effective way to meet all your neighbors) --- I'm a housing activist. The local politics forums I'm on are populated almost entirely by people who don't work in technology. I see way more fascination with AI there than I do any anti-AI sentiment.

Tech hosts a particularly virulent and ideological strain of anti-AI activism; I think because the disruption it threatens for our jobs is much less abstract than it is for everybody else.

You need a 'pro-AI but anti-every-AI-company' category or you'll spin out like a GMO debate.

Exactly, just as there are rational reasons to dislike Bayer/Monsanto's influence on the business of agriculture without being hysterical about "Frankenfood", you can be against OpenAI, etc. without thinking AI is going to destroy civilization or whatever.

>Tech hosts a particularly virulent and ideological strain of anti-AI activism; I think because the disruption it threatens for our jobs is much less abstract than it is for everybody else.

We know how the sausage is made. Your non tech folk only see the marketing/hype, so of course they're optimistic.

Uh, OK, I'll take your word for that, but either way, the claim in the grandparent comment doesn't hold.

From my experience, which is of course anecdotal, a large chunk of the population is still in the “impressed” phase, where they are wowed by all the tricks and impressive demos chatgpt has.

And a large chunk, typically the younger and more online / political aware - they absolutely loathe ai. For stealing from artists, ruining online spaces with slop, spreading misinformation, deepfake porn, and of course screwing the economy, destroying jobs, and polluting the world so a few ultra rich people can get richer, and a few more people like you can make mid-six figures while everybody else has to cope.

If the trend i see continues, i would expect the second group will get very big very soon. Either because the hype is real and ai is taking jobs, or because the hype wasn’t real and they feel lied to.

Very insulated.

Stanford released a report[1] in April, that shows a wide gap between AI Insiders and everyone else.

> 5. AI experts and the U.S. public have very different perspectives on AI's future, except on elections and personal relationships.

>On how people do their jobs, 73% of experts expect a positive impact compared to just 23% of the public, a 50-point gap. Similar divides appear for the economy (69% vs. 21%) and medical care (84% vs. 44%)

> 6. Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64%) expect AI to lead to fewer jobs over the next 20 years, while only 5% expect more.

>Experts were less pessimistic (39% fewer, 19% more) but forecast far faster adoption, expecting generative AI to assist 18% of U.S. work hours by 2030 versus the public's estimate of 10%.

[1] https://hai.stanford.edu/ai-index/2026-ai-index-report

> With that being the case you have to wonder what the average person is feeling about it.

The average person wants to get on with their lives and look after their family and friends.

People will talk about it, some might feel worried, some might feel intrigued, but they just aren't as prone to perpetual rage and doomerism and the more online community.