The tech industry has a problem: people are starting to hate AI. Not just dislike it, but actively hate it, according to multiple recent polls.
An NBC News poll found AI has worse favorability ratings than ICE, ranking just slightly above the war in Iran. Let that sink in. Nearly two thirds of respondents had used ChatGPT or Copilot in the last month, but that familiarity isn't breeding fondness.
Gen Z is leading the backlash. Only 18 percent of Gen Z respondents in a recent Gallup poll said they felt hopeful about AI, down from 27 percent last year. Meanwhile, anger is surging: 31 percent now say they feel angry about AI, up from 22 percent. The generation using AI the most is also the one growing to resent it the fastest.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella admitted the industry needs to "earn the social permission" to consume massive amounts of energy for AI. That permission hasn't been granted. Politicians opposing data center buildouts are winning elections, while those supporting them are getting voted out. Some have even had their houses shot at, a disturbing escalation that reflects deeper frustration.
The disconnect comes down to what the article calls "software brain," a worldview that sees everything as algorithms and loops. This thinking created our modern tech world, but AI has turbocharged it in ways that feel increasingly disconnected from what regular people actually want or need.
For anyone using AI tools at work, this matters because the backlash could shape regulation, investment, and which tools survive long term. The gap between Silicon Valley's excitement and public sentiment has never been wider, and that tension will define how AI develops from here.
