AI trust crisis: Gallup report and University of Arizona students booing double warning

Core conclusion

In May 2026, the U.S. AI industry suffered a double blow to trust. **A survey report released by the Pew Research Center and Gallup shows that only 25% of the American public believes that AI will benefit them personally, while 75% of AI experts hold the opposite view. ** On the same day, University of Arizona graduates collectively booed former Google CEO Eric Schmidt during his commencement speech—and when his speech turned to praise for AI, the boos were loud enough to drown out his voice.

These two incidents revealed a reality that is accelerating: the more powerful AI technology becomes, the deeper the public’s distrust of it becomes. **

Key data

• 75% of AI experts believe AI will make jobs better → Only 25% of the American public believe the same
• Nearly half of Gen Z respondents believe AI will harm their "critical thinking skills"
• Over 60% of Gen Z students said their school lacks a clear policy on the use of AI
• Eric Schmidt was booed multiple times during his commencement speech at the University of Arizona

Background: Two investigative reports and a graduation ceremony

In mid-May 2026, Pew Research Center released a special survey report called "AI Experts vs. The Public" to compare the gap in attitudes toward AI between AI technology practitioners and the general public in the United States. The report is based on a survey of more than 1,000 AI researchers and 5,000 U.S. adults and is the largest AI trust study in recent years.

Almost at the same time, Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation jointly released a special study on Gen Z and AI, focusing on young people born between 1997 and 2012.

Just as these two reports sparked industry discussions, a live video on social media began to spread wildly: ** University of Arizona graduates booed former Google CEO Eric Schmidt at the graduation ceremony. **

Live restoration: Eric Schmidt at the University of Arizona

According to attendee descriptions and live video, Eric Schmidt delivered a speech at the University of Arizona's graduation ceremony on May 15. When he started talking about the "bright future" and "huge opportunities" of AI, the audience erupted in sustained boos.

Schmidt tried to respond to this anxiety, acknowledging that students feel "legitimate" concerns about "the machines are coming, jobs are disappearing, the climate is collapsing, and politics are fragmenting." But his optimism about AI failed to change the mood at the scene - whenever he started to advocate AI again, the boos started again. **

To complicate matters further, the boos from some graduates were also directed at Schmidt personally - the controversy surrounding his sexual assault accusations in 2025 has still not faded in public memory.

Implications for content creators

This AI trust crisis has direct implications for WayToClawEarn’s readers—AI content creators and automation practitioners:

1. Lack of trust is both a business risk and an opportunity

As public trust in big AI companies and technology leaders declines, independent, trustworthy AI practice guides become more valuable.

2. Gen Z is your reader

The Gallup report shows that although Gen Z does not trust large companies, they are already actually using AI - nearly 80% of Gen Z respondents who participated in the survey said they have used AI tools at school or work. This is precisely the core user group of WayToClawEarn: **They need practical guidance, not grand narratives. **

3. Transparency and data are more effective than any marketing

In an environment where trust is lacking, sharing data, demonstrating failures, and giving verifiable practical steps are much more effective than empty "AI revolution" rhetoric.

Tool entry

Several key tools play an important role in this trust crisis:

Programming models such as DeepSeek and Claude allow more people to independently build AI workflows, reducing dependence on large company platform solutions. n8n This kind of open source automation tool just caters to the trend of "controlling it yourself" - when the public no longer trusts Silicon Valley giants, open source and locally running AI tools become trustworthy substitutes.

Related reading

• The Verge: Most Americans don't trust AI
• The Verge: University of Arizona students boo Eric Schmidt
• HN: AI Trust Story
• HN: Schmidt Booed

Internal link guidance

• Want to learn more about how AI automation can gain user trust? Watch the tutorial: AI Agent drives automated website operations: Build a fully automatic content pipeline in 30 minutes
• Real case: Someone used open source tools to build a stable automation system: He Built an AI Automation Stack with Claude + n8n — $4K to $12K/mo in 6 Months
• Want to learn how to use DeepSeek to build a local AI workflow? Watch the tutorial: DeepSeek V4 vs Claude Code: 90% Cheaper, Same Quality