# AI anxiety reflects fear of loss and disputes over who benefits

Markdown copy of https://realalpha.app/s/ai-anxiety-reflects-fear-of-loss-and-disputes-over-who/ on Real Alpha, the best minutes from long interviews with the people building AI. Cite and link the page, not this copy.

- Speaker: [Reid Hoffman](https://realalpha.app/people/reid-hoffman/) (Host) · Reid Hoffman is cohost of Possible. · Co-founded LinkedIn; one of OpenAI's first investors; Greylock partner.
- Host: Aria Finger
- Show: Possible
- Episode: [Why Americans are so worried about AI](https://realalpha.app/v/trTeQzHft50/), Oct 14, 2026
- Moment: 1:15 to 8:29 of the episode (7 min), playing on https://realalpha.app/s/ai-anxiety-reflects-fear-of-loss-and-disputes-over-who/; the episode from there: https://realalpha.app/v/trTeQzHft50/?t=75

## Quote

> “the future is going to be less good than the now and that **AI is just an amplification** of that.”
> — [Reid Hoffman](https://realalpha.app/people/reid-hoffman/) at [1:37](https://realalpha.app/v/trTeQzHft50/?t=97) · Possible

## Takeaways

1. AI amplifies existing worries about economic prospects.
2. Incumbents fear losing what they already have.
3. A dual mandate means winning at AI and sharing its gains.

## About this segment

Reid Hoffman links American AI pessimism to fear of a worse future, an incumbent mindset and doubts about who will gain. He argues the U.S. needs to win at AI and spread its prosperity.

From “Why Americans are so worried about AI”, Oct 14, 2026. [Watch the full episode](https://realalpha.app/v/trTeQzHft50/)

## Transcript

Transcribed by machine (Whisper) from the episode’s audio, so a word may be off here and there.

[1:19](https://realalpha.app/v/trTeQzHft50/?t=79) So, Reid, America is helping to build this technology, and yet Americans are among the most worried about it. What do you think explains this gap? We're the ones who build it. We have high adoption and yet we are not excited about it. I think there's three things. One, I think there's a general, call it, concern, fear, worry that the future is going to be less good than the now and that AI is just an amplification of that.

[1:50](https://realalpha.app/v/trTeQzHft50/?t=110) Like, I think even before AI, there was that worry, partially because I think that, you know, we've done a not great job as a country of bringing, call it the majority of the country along on our economic prosperity and, and how to make sure that that, you know, kind of maybe the simplest way of putting it is make sure we get the middle class a raise in the work and jobs and opportunities they're doing.

[2:14](https://realalpha.app/v/trTeQzHft50/?t=134) I think the second thing is that, generally speaking, when you have technological waves, the people who already in their own minds feel like challengers versus incumbents are benefited from that. So it's kind of not surprising that when you go to China, which is, you know, viewing its growing its economics and feels that it's, you know, kind of coming on strong to create, you know, a whole number of industries, some of which already very successfully.

[2:44](https://realalpha.app/v/trTeQzHft50/?t=164) But even, for example, when you get to the global south, the primary thing that they request is run AI is make sure we're included. We don't want to have this be economic prosperity for other people and not for us. So make sure we're included. But, you know, since, you know, the U.S. has been the richest country in the world, it tends to have more of an incumbent perspective, even though historically, you know, we psychologically identify more with the challenger in terms of, you know, growing our industries, growing a new country, et cetera, et cetera.

[3:18](https://realalpha.app/v/trTeQzHft50/?t=198) But we're like, I think people are like, well, we don't want to lose what we have. So I think that's the second part of the kind of the American psychology. And then the third is that we have, and this is kind of classic when you get to the kind of shadow ages of empires, whether it's Rome or England or now, for us Americans, there's a lot more internal dispute. It's like, well, if there's going to be an AI boon, who is it going to benefit?

[3:47](https://realalpha.app/v/trTeQzHft50/?t=227) Is it going to benefit me or benefit you? And you're not focused on the U.S. as a kind of defining country within the world. It's more like, you know, my political tribe versus your political tribe, my region versus your region, my, you know, racial identity versus your racial identity, you know, da-da-da-da-da. And so I think there's a lot of internal. And so I think all of that sets the stage for most people being inherently somewhat skeptical.

[4:17](https://realalpha.app/v/trTeQzHft50/?t=257) So, for example, a lot of people are, you know, kind of anti big tech companies and big tech, you know, CEOs and creators anyway. And they're like, this is just another reason to be anti. And even when you say, well, wait a minute, this could create a medical assistant that could essentially create high quality health care across the entire scope of the world, but also 340 million Americans, of which only something substantially less than 100 million have really good high quality health care.

[4:50](https://realalpha.app/v/trTeQzHft50/?t=290) Yeah. Right. And even you could do that and say, well, no, but that doesn't matter because it matters because it'll be benefiting, you know, the tech companies and the and the owners of the tech companies more than it is us. And you're like, well, that's the wrong place to be. You should be thinking about what are the things that kind of raise the capabilities for everyone. And that's, I think, the reason why, since the other countries don't have these internal divisions, they're clear-headed about the fact that this is going to create the next generation of globally relevant prosperity that they want to be bought in.

[5:27](https://realalpha.app/v/trTeQzHft50/?t=327) And so, for example, the most surprising part of these findings is, you know, only 36% AI to mostly help their country. It's like, well, that's an obvious thing in terms of economic productivity. productivity. To say, hey, I worry about the reshuffle of power economics within the country is, I think, something to say, how do we navigate that? But the creation of prosperity for the countries that adopt is actually, in fact, really straightforward. And that's the reason why you see the 93% in China. And I think there's a number of other factors that come into it. I think the Chinese government, you know, kind of understands just as they've been trying to raise their farm industry and the car industry and a bunch of other things, they understand this is an economic multiplier. It's part of the reason why a number of years ago, they said

[6:20](https://realalpha.app/v/trTeQzHft50/?t=380) they want to be the leader globally in AI by 2030. That's just around the corner in terms of what they're trying to target. And so I think, you know, for us, that's part of the reason why, I kind of, as you know, a couple of weeks ago came out kind of arguing for a dual mandate, which is we both need to win at AI because that will give us as a society, the economic prosperity to do everything from trying to fund the fact that we are massively in debt.

[6:53](https://realalpha.app/v/trTeQzHft50/?t=413) We're like a society that's maxed out all our credit cards and most of our taxes, a huge percentage of our taxes are going to paying off the debt. And this gives us the growth to navigate that and create economics. And then the second is to use that, to earn the money by being first in AI to then benefit the bulk of the country, to say, how is it that in building AI, it isn't only going to be a beneficiary to one industry or to a small number of companies, but to many of the industries, to many of the workers. And some of that you can do through creating assistance, medical assistant, legal assistant, educational assistant, government services. And some of it you do by supporting the industries. To close off this opening monologue, sorry for the length, is to say, look, you want a return to manufacturing as a strength in the US?

[7:55](https://realalpha.app/v/trTeQzHft50/?t=475) AI and robotics is your only hope. And the question would be, is how do we deploy our strengths in AI? We're actually behind the Chinese on robotics. So, and increase robotics to return us to a manufacturing powerhouse, or at least in contention with China, Japan, Germany, et cetera. And I think that would be obviously very good for the middle class if we succeed in doing so. So it's very clear that there is a lot of work to be done, both by the companies themselves,