Fear of Being Replaced by Tech Hits a Record Among US Workers

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American workers have a new item near the top of their worry list. New Gallup polling finds that 27% of U.S. workers fear technology could make their jobs obsolete, the highest share on record. The figure is up seven points from last year and roughly double the 13% recorded in 2017.

Younger Workers Feel It Most

The concern is sharpest among the people with the longest careers ahead of them. 34% of workers aged 18 to 44 worry about being displaced by technology, compared with 19% of those 45 and older. For workers under 45, technology displacement now ties with benefit cuts as the top job worry. The anxiety is not confined to one kind of worker either: it rose among college graduates, to 25%, and among those without a degree, to 29%.

What did not move is just as interesting. The share of workers worried about benefit reductions, layoffs, lower wages and shorter hours stayed stable compared with previous years. In other words, people are not more nervous about the economy in general. They are more nervous about the software on the next screen.

Fear Runs Ahead of the Data

Gallup notes that AI's overall effect on U.S. employment remains modest so far, with unemployment at 4.1%. Some evidence even points to AI helping create new jobs. Washington has made scattered attempts to respond to AI-driven disruption, but policymakers have not rallied around any single approach. The data come from Gallup's August 2026 Work and Education survey, and the margin of error for employed respondents is plus or minus six points, so the trend matters more than the decimal. For employers rolling out AI, the poll is a useful reminder: the tools may be measured in productivity, but employees are measuring them in job security.

Source: More U.S. Workers Fear Losing Their Jobs to Technology