Majority of Americans See U.S. Leadership in AI as Crucial, Survey Finds

Newly released survey results offer fresh insights into how Americans view the global race to develop artificial intelligence (AI). This is particularly timely because the White House's AI Action Plan, released in July, outlines the administration's plan to realize the "President's vision of global AI dominance," positioning AI advancement as a key arena in global strategic competition.^[1] The administration argues that it is imperative that the United States "achieve and maintain unquestioned and unchallenged global technological dominance" in AI.^[2] But does the American public share this view that AI development is a must-win domain of strategic competition? According to a nationally representative survey of 2,000 Americans conducted this spring by the RAND American Life Panel, the answer is a resounding yes.^[3]

The Importance of U.S. Leadership and Perceived Competition with China

Two survey questions directly asked about the importance of U.S. versus Chinese leadership in AI. When asked how important it is for the United States to be the world leader in AI development and use, 37 percent of respondents rated its importance a 10 out of 10, while 72 percent gave it at least a 6 out of 10. Similarly, when asked how concerned they would be if China became the world leader in AI, 38 percent rated their concern as a 10 out of 10, and 72 percent scored it at 6 or higher. Taken together, these numbers show strong alignment between the American public's attitudes and the administration's competitive posture on AI; see Figure 1.

Additional analysis helped to discern some of the factors that shaped these attitudes. Men rated the importance of U.S. dominance more highly than women did. Those with a high school diploma or less rated the importance lower than other respondents, and ratings also tended to increase with respondent age.

These results suggest that the American public's view broadly aligns with the White House's framing that the United States is engaged in a competitive race for AI dominance.

Competition with China or Competition over a Promising Technology?

But what drove these attitudes? Deeper analysis uncovered significant differences in how respondents' familiarity with AI shaped their pattern of responses. Americans' views on the importance of U.S. leadership in AI strengthen as their familiarity with the technology grows. The survey found that, controlling for sex, education, and age, those who rated themselves as more familiar with AI applications—such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek, and self-driving cars—were also more likely to see American leadership in the field as vital. This suggests that for many Americans, prioritizing U.S. strength in AI is more about seizing the opportunities of this emerging technology.

Conversely, knowing more about AI did not mean respondents were any more or less worried about the prospect of China leading the world in AI. This suggests that negative views of potential Chinese technological supremacy are driven by broader competitive perspectives regarding China rather than fears about AI specifically; see Figure 2.

The top figure shows the perceived importance of U.S. AI leadership by familiarity with AI. The y-axis shows the importance of U.S. AI leadership with a range from 7 to 10. The x-axis shows the reported familiarity with AI. The graph shows a positive correlation between reported familiarity with AI and the perceived importance of U.S. AI leadership, with importance ratings increasing as familiarity rises.

The bottom figure shows reported concern over Chinese AI competition by familiarity with AI. The y-axis shows the Concern over Chinese AI competition with a range from 7 to 10. The x-axis shows the reported familiarity with AI. The graph shows a slight positive correlation between reported familiarity with AI and concern over Chinese AI competition, with concern remaining relatively high across familiarity levels.

These predictions control for participants' reported sex, education and age (generation).

SOURCE: RAND analysis of American Life Panel survey responses (RAND Corporation, undated-b).

NOTE: 0–10 scale; 0 = not familiar at all, 10 = very familiar. Responses were weighted using American Life Panel data to be representative of the U.S. population.

Despite these attitudes, the American public has demonstrated a strong appetite for Chinese technology products. Following the release of DeepSeek in January 2025, its AI chat program became the most downloaded app on both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.^[4] Additionally, one-third of American adults report using TikTok,^[5] despite repeated calls for it to be shut down on national security grounds.^[6]

Public and Policy In Sync—At Least for Now

These survey results suggest that Americans care strongly about the United States maintaining its competitive edge over China. The AI Action Plan begins with the assertion that "the United States is in a race to achieve global dominance in artificial intelligence,"^[7] and the American public appears to agree that winning that race should be a top national priority.

Notes

1. Donald J. Trump, Winning the Race: America's AI Action Plan, Executive Office of the President, July 2025, p. 2. Return to content ⤴
2. Trump, 2025, p. i. Return to content ⤴
3. RAND Corporation, "About the American Life Panel," webpage, undated-a, https://www.rand.org/education-employment-infrastructure/survey-panels/alp.html. Return to content ⤴
4. Ivan Mehta, "DeepSeek Reaches No. 1 on US Play Store," TechCrunch, January 28, 2025. Return to content ⤴
5. Kirsten Eddy, "8 Facts About Americans and TikTok," Pew Research Center, December 20, 2024. Return to content ⤴
6. David Hamilton, "How TikTok Grew from a Fun App for Teens into a Potential National Security Threat," AP, January 19, 2025. Return to content ⤴
7. Trump, 2025, p. 1. Return to content ⤴

Topics

• Artificial Intelligence
• China
• Emerging Technologies
• Geopolitical Strategic Competition
• United States