The Country Building AI Is the Least Excited About It

The US invested $285.9 billion in private AI funding in 2025, yet only 33% of Americans say AI products and services make them excited, according to the Ipsos AI Monitor 2026 survey of 32 countries, compared with 83% in China and 79% in India. Pew Research data shows the share of Americans more concerned than excited about AI in daily life rose from 37% in 2021 to 52% after ChatGPT's late-2022 launch and was still 50% in 2025, even as frequent AI tool use rose to 24%. The author expects US AI use to keep rising while trust stays flat, with rules coming from states and towns first and Asia and Latin America becoming the fastest-growing markets for AI products.