Formula 1, the pinnacle of motorsport, has faced a strange problem this year. With the rollout of new, more technologically advanced cars for the 2026 season, some drivers have complained about the way AI now plays a role in determining how their engines deploy power in critical moments. Even the most prestigious drivers in the world, in the literal driver’s seat of their cars, say they are not actually as in control these days as they’d like to be.
We all want to feel like we are in the driver’s seat in our lives. At the same time, we live in a world that feels increasingly unpredictable, and AI is contributing to that unpredictability. People in my research say by huge margins that they feel AI is transforming life as we know it, rather than just tinkering around the edges. AI’s power today is raising important questions around how much control we will have in this new future.
Americans aren’t yet sure how this AI revolution will work out, and are divided over whether AI is more likely to help or hurt them. I find 42 percent of voters think AI will be more helpful, while 39 percent feel it will be more harmful in the future. Optimism rises amongst those who use AI tools the most. The percent saying AI makes them feel worried has fallen in the last three years, though it still hovers around four in ten.
When voters are asked which worries them more—AI causing disruption in the economy or AI falling out of human control—they lean toward economic concerns. But for American workers and business leaders, economic change and questions of who is in charge go hand in hand. What control do I have over what I do and what I produce? How can I make sure I am the one benefitting from my ingenuity and work in a world powered by AI?
As of last summer, workers in my research leaned more toward the idea that technological change can be positive for them. In a survey I conducted with the Economic Innovation Group’s American Worker Project in August 2025, we found 57 percent of workers viewed new technology as more of an opportunity than a threat, and that view was shared by college-educated (61 percent) and non-college-educated (55 percent) workers alike.
At the same time, the risk to workers losing control in their careers still feels present. Job displacement is the second biggest worry voters have about AI these days, just behind trust in and reliability of the models they use. In focus groups of young Americans I’ve done for The New York Times, there were significant concerns that AI is shifting power and control ever further toward companies and employers and away from workers or potential employees like them.
At a time of rising prices and a job market that feels unfavorable toward new workers, it’s no surprise that there’s some hesitation about who the benefits of AI will accrue to.
Companies and employers generally do agree with the premise that AI will lead to benefits for their bottom line. The percent of businesses using AI has grown significantly in recent years, according to the Census Bureau, and in 2024, two-thirds of small business owners and executives reported expecting AI to have a positive impact on their business’s future, according to polling from the Bipartisan Policy Center.
However, though they’re excited about what AI might mean, they also wonder about matters of control and risks associated with AI. Deloitte has found that nearly two-thirds of businesses are likely to redesign or deeply transform key processes around AI. In research I’ve done on business owners and C-suite executives, nearly all report that it is important for AI providers to disclose how customer data is used to improve, fine-tune, or evaluate AI systems. They want to be sure they’re the ones benefiting from the fruits of their labor and ingenuity; 56 percent are concerned that their competitors will benefit from AI models trained on their organization’s proprietary data, workflows, or institutional knowledge.
Most, 86 percent, agree that having full ownership and control over the AI systems, data, and models that they use should be a priority for their business. And 66 percent of business and IT leaders told Deloitte that they have at least moderate concern about reliance on foreign-controlled AI infrastructure.
Business leaders want to know that their use of AI will help them keep up with the competition, not open them up to new risks. Workers want to know that AI tools will give them the ability to do more, not take away their value. There are real upsides to AI for businesses, workers, and people, but there’s also a clear throughline in the data: people worry about who is in control when AI rules the world.
The future of AI that people want? Keeping themselves in the driver’s seat.
