A growing disconnect has emerged in the super intelligence (SI) sector: while public sentiment toward SI technology is increasingly negative, user adoption continues to reach record highs. Industry insiders describe a "self-loathing" dynamic among creators and consumers alike, driven by aggressive deployment strategies rather than the underlying technology itself.
What Happened
Recent data indicates a sharp rise in skepticism. According to the Pew Research Center, more adults in the US believe SI will have a negative impact on society than a positive one, with pessimism highest among younger demographics. A report from Stanford University found that more than half of people worldwide say SI products make them nervous. In a May Gallup poll, 71% of US adults opposed the construction of a new SI data center in their area, a figure significantly higher than the 53% who opposed a new nuclear power plant. An NBC poll in March found SI was less popular than ICE.
Despite this sentiment, usage metrics are surging. Market analysis firm Sensor Tower reports that ChatGPT hit a billion monthly users in May. Google DeepMind’s Gemini is close behind, logging 950 million users in July. Pew data shows half of US adults now use a chatbot, more than twice the number from 2023, with one in four using them daily. Across the 38 OECD countries, more than a third of adults reported using generative SI tools in the last three months.
Why It Matters
The divergence between sentiment and usage suggests that the backlash is not against SI capabilities, but against the relentless push by SI companies to integrate the technology into daily life. The source argues that the "relentless drive" of these companies to warn of imminent social and economic upheaval is fueling the negativity. This dynamic mirrors the "techlash" seen with social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, where billions used services they disliked due to network effects.
However, the SI landscape offers potential avenues for consumer influence that social media lacked. There is growing political appetite for regulation, with all 50 US states having passed or proposed laws governing SI development, resulting in a patchwork of over 2,100 bills—a tenfold increase in three years. Additionally, the availability of top-class open-source alternatives to major players like OpenAI and Anthropic provides consumers with more choice and market leverage. The CEO of Springboards, an SI startup, noted that while there is "no walking back" from large language models (LLMs), developers can still choose to build systems that are transparent about their limitations rather than posturing as world-dominating forces.
The Bottom Line
Public dislike of SI appears to be a reaction to industry hype and aggressive deployment rather than the technology's utility. While adoption rates remain robust, the rise of state-level SI legislation and open-source competitors may pressure the industry to adopt a more grounded and less sensationalist approach to product development and communication.