Blog · Oct 3, 2026 · By Velocity11

Will AI take my job? What people in 37 countries actually said

Everyone has an opinion about AI and jobs. Most of them are guesses. So let's look at what people actually told researchers this year.

The honest headline: people are split

Pew Research asked people in 37 countries how they feel about AI in daily life. Across the countries, 37% said they are more concerned than excited. 41% said they are equally concerned and excited. So it is not panic. It is mixed feelings. [1]

More people also expect AI to cause job loss than to create jobs. That is what people expect, not what is proven to happen. [1]

Young people got more worried, fast

In the US, adults aged 18 to 34 who are more concerned than excited went from 40% in 2024 to 55% now. [1] The people who grew up online are the ones getting nervous.

The people who use AI the most are not carefree

Anthropic asked 81,000 users of its AI assistant about their work. About one in five voiced worry about losing work to AI. Early-career people worried more. So did people in jobs where AI is used a lot. And the ones with the biggest speed gains were also more worried. [2]

Same people, same survey, also reported real gains. Many did new tasks they could not do before. That is the part most headlines skip.

Fair warning: these are Claude users, not a random sample of everyone. Treat it as a signal, not a verdict.

So what do you do with this?

We cannot tell you what AI will do to your job. Nobody can. Here is what we do at Velocity11 instead:

  1. Use AI on one small, boring task this week. Learn what it gets wrong.
  2. Always check its work. The person who checks is worth more than the tool.
  3. Write down what only you know: your clients, your context, your taste. AI does not have that.
  4. Own your tools where you can. Fewer monthly bills means less pressure if work gets slower.

One question for you

Are you more worried or more excited? Tell us on Instagram @velocity11ai.

Sources

[1] Pew Research Center, "Globally, More People Expect AI to Cause Job Loss Than Growth", Sep 17, 2026. pewresearch.org

[2] Anthropic, "What 81,000 people told us about AI economics", Apr 22, 2026. anthropic.com

This post was written with AI help and reviewed by a person.