A survey showed that about one-third of Americans think the benefits of AI outweigh the risks, compared to about two-thirds of people in China.
Posted by The Headlines, Checked
- Sources
- 2 contradict1 support3 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 55%
The HeadlinesSep 4, 2026
The claim's figures (about 33% of Americans and about 67% of Chinese) closely match the KPMG survey cited by Lowy (35% and 69%), but GlobeScan (48% US, 83% China) and the Stanford AI Index (39% US, 83% China, measured as 'more benefits than drawbacks') report higher numbers, especially for China.
A detail. The sources confirm the gist; the verdict faults a detail such as a date, number or wording.
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What was said
… They really want people to feel that AI is useful to their lives, practically. The other thing it shows is that people in China are just generally much more optimistic about AI than people in the Us. One survey recently showed that about one-third of Americans think that the benefits of AI outweigh the risks, but in China, that's actually about two-thirds of people. So, there's just a lot more sense that AI is going to be exciting, or at least bring something good to people's lives. Those are the headlines. If you'd like to play the Friday News Quiz, stick around. It's just after these credits. …
The Headlines · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. GlobeScan's July-August 2026 survey puts agreement that benefits outweigh risks at 83% in China and 48% in the USA, a higher US figure and a higher Chinese figure than the claim's approximations.[4]
Contradicts. Stanford's AI Index reports 83% of Chinese and 39% of Americans see AI products as offering more benefits than drawbacks, so the US share is above one-third and the Chinese share is well above two-thirds.[3]
Supports. KPMG survey figures reported by Lowy show 69% of Chinese and 35% of Americans say AI's benefits outweigh its risks, closely matching the claim's roughly two-thirds and one-third.[5]
Context. Bloomberg notes Stanford's AI Index finds 84% of Chinese excited by AI versus 38% of Americans, and frames the gap as about whether AI's gains reach people rather than fewer perceived risks.[6]
Context. Reuters/Ipsos and AP-NORC polls find large majorities of Americans worried AI is developing too fast or lacks adequate safeguards, consistent with low US optimism but not measuring the same benefit-versus-risk question.[1][2]
Sources
6 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 primary, 2 not rated, 1 tier 2
- 1Funding frenzy, chip wars, and robot dreamsreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2Most Americans say AI is moving too fast, AP-NORC poll ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3CHAPTER 8: Public Opinion - hai.stanford.eduhai.stanford.edu · primary source · cited for: contradicts
- 4Two Superpowers, Two Verdicts on AI - globescan.comglobescan.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 5The AI “enthusiasm” gap is a dangerous misnomerlowyinstitute.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6Why AI Optimism Is So Much Higher in China Than the USbloomberg.com · tier 2 · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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