The AI@Work Series
Thirteen reports on artificial intelligence and the American workplace, drawn from the AI@Work survey — CHIP50 Wave 38.6, the AI/employment supplement, fielded June 21–July 13, 2026.
Source: AI@Work survey — CHIP50 Wave 38.6 (Civic Health and Institutions Project / COVID States Project), the AI/employment supplement, fielded June 21–July 13, 2026; total unweighted N = 23,462. All figures are weighted estimates.
Reports
Who Uses AI at Work: Adoption Across the American Workforce
A majority of U.S. workers now use AI on the job — but adoption is sharply divided by education, income, gender, and age. And who uses AI turns out not to be the same as who trusts it.
What Workers Actually Use AI For
Among workers who use AI on the job, the most common uses are troubleshooting problems and brainstorming — not writing code, which is the least common of nine tasks. AI at work is a broad thinking aid, and the tasks that divide sh…
Faster, But Not Freer: How American Workers Experience AI and Productivity
Most workers who use AI say it makes them more productive — but the time it frees tends to become more work, expectations are rising, and workers see employers as the main beneficiary.
Don't Ask, Don't Tell: How American Workers Really Use AI on the Job
A majority of U.S. workers now use AI at work — mostly without mentioning it, mostly without a rulebook, and often after feeding it the company's confidential data. And most bosses sense it: two-thirds of business owners suspect t…
Whose Job Is Next? How Workers See AI and Job Loss
A near-majority of workers expect AI to eventually cost people in their line of work their jobs — but far fewer fear for their own job. The anxiety is highest among the young and among white-collar, data-heavy workers, inverting t…
Do Degrees Still Matter in the Age of AI?
The public worries that AI is devaluing the college degree — but the people who actually do the hiring don't buy it. They still value degrees, reward technical majors, and increasingly screen résumés with AI — and about half now s…
The AI Training Gap — and Who Should Pay to Close It
Most workers get no AI training from their employer, and the training that exists flows to the already-advantaged. Workers know it — 43% say they need AI training — and they are clear about the obstacle: time, not willingness. Ask…
Rein In the Titans, Cushion the Workers: Where Americans Stand on AI Policy
Americans distrust AI and distrust its corporate elite even more, are wary of exporting the technology, but back a worker safety net across party lines. Beneath those toplines, one axis runs through nearly every attitude: the more…
Doubling Down on the Diploma: Why AI Is Making Parents More Likely to Send Their Kids to College
Contrary to the fear that AI is making college obsolete, American parents are, on balance, more likely to send their kids to college because of AI — not less. The pull is strongest among the most educated parents — and among the m…
Main Street's AI Bet: Small-Business Owners Are Buying In Faster Than They Can Staff or See It
Most small-business owners who see AI as relevant are already using it and plan to spend more — but they are buying subscriptions rather than building systems, the cost savings are unproven, the skills gap widens the more they rel…
Engagement, Not Fear: Who Actually Drives Demand for an AI Safety Net
Capstone analysis · AI@Work series · Prepared 2026-07-21
The AI & Work Divide: How Artificial Intelligence Is Sorting the American Workforce
A majority of American workers now use AI on the job — but who uses it, who trusts it, who is protected from it, and who wants protection all fall along a small number of durable lines. This report synthesizes eleven AI@Work studi…
The AI Gender Gap: How Men and Women Diverge Across Every Corner of Artificial Intelligence
Across nearly two hundred AI measures — using it, trusting it, feeling it, fearing it — men out-engage women almost everywhere. The gap is not about the jobs people hold, and the "skill gap" is a confidence gap: women rate themsel…
Companion documents
AI@Work survey — CHIP50 Wave 38.6 (Civic Health and Institutions Project / COVID States Project). All figures are weighted estimates.