Edelman's 2026 Trust Barometer finds AI anxiety is a significant driver of broader social insularity, with 54% of low-income and 44% of middle-income respondents believing generative AI will leave them behind rather than benefit them. Trust in AI itself varies sharply by country, from 72% in China to just 32% in the United States.
The report also found nearly two-thirds of respondents believe AI can already perform at least one core health task as well as or better than a doctor, part of a broader shift toward uncredentialed sources, AI, friends and family, social media, gaining influence over credentialed experts in areas like disease prevention. Edelman frames this within a larger pattern of declining institutional trust, with AI anxiety acting as both a symptom and an accelerant.