Artificial intelligence is rapidly being adopted in a variety of industries, workplaces, and personal use, and it is estimated that one in four Americans uses artificial intelligence on a regular basis, but there are knowledge gaps.
According to the new Nebraska Snapshot, only about half, or 47%, of Nebraskans surveyed say they have read or heard a lot about artificial intelligence, while 53% say they have read or heard little or nothing. The knowledge gap is even greater when looking at age, employment, education, and income levels.
Based on data from the Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Sociological Research Institute, the Nebraska Snapshot reveals that highly educated, high-income, and younger Nebraskans are learning more about AI.
People with a bachelor’s degree or higher are more likely to have read or heard about AI, with 65% of respondents saying they have heard or read a lot about AI. Meanwhile, only 26% of Nebraskans surveyed with a high school diploma or less said the same thing. Those with some college or two-year degree fall in the middle at 52%.
Similarly, 61% of respondents with annual incomes of $100,000 or more have heard or read a lot about AI, but only 38% of respondents with annual incomes of less than $50,000 and 39% of respondents with incomes between $50,000 and $100,000 said the same.
Nebraskans between the ages of 19 and 44 are far more aware of AI, with 64% of respondents saying they have read or heard about it, compared to just 20% of those 65 and older. 43% of people aged 45 to 64 said they had read or heard a lot about AI.
Nebraskans’ encounters with AI information are consistent with their peers across the country. According to the Pew Research Center, 47% of Americans say they have read or heard a lot about artificial intelligence, 48% say they have read or heard a little, and just 5% say they have never heard or read anything about AI.
The Pew survey also showed that the proportion of Americans who are more concerned than excited about artificial intelligence has increased since 2021, with 37% sharing a similar sentiment, compared to 50% in 2026. In general, Americans view AI’s potential in health care more favorably, but less favorably when it comes to its use in interviews, elections, and personal relationships. The majority of American workers surveyed (65%) still say they use AI very little or not at all at work.
So are Nebraskans’ perceptions of the control of artificial intelligence in their daily lives. Overall, 45% of Nebraskans surveyed said they had little or no control over artificial intelligence in their lives, 35% said they had some control, and only 19% said they had a lot or a lot of control over whether to use AI in their lives.
The greatest differences in perceptions of control were among older adults and retired Nebraskans. Most respondents (62%) ages 65 and older feel they have little or no control over whether or not they use AI in their lives, compared to just 35% of Nebraskans ages 19 to 44 who said the same. Most retired Nebraskans surveyed (61%) also said they have little or no control over AI in their lives.
The Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey, used by researchers, state organizations and policy makers, also includes core surveys that delve into demographics, quality of life measures, educational attainment, community satisfaction and other variables. These core questions inform much of the Nebraska Snapshot series. This is the first time the survey includes questions about artificial intelligence.
All Nebraska snapshots are available online. To include your next NASIS management research question, please email bosr@unl.edu.
