\n\t\t\t\t\t\tA recent University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll found that many Granite Staters have concerns about artificial intelligence. The study found that 64% of New Hampshire residents believe AI will have a negative effect on the country, while 72% think it will lead to fewer jobs over the next decade. According to the poll, younger residents tended to be more pessimistic about AI’s impact, while those 65 and older were generally more optimistic. UNH philosophy professor Max Edwards said he was not surprised by the findings. “It’s less about AI taking over the world than it is about AI subtly degrading the human experience and making our lives more flat and less meaningful,” Edwards said. He said trained philosophers are working behind the scenes to help shape AI systems and better understand how the technology could affect the human experience if it becomes conscious. >> Download the free WMUR app to get updates on the go <<“How do they not build biases into the model that don’t reflect the belief systems of the users of the model? And that’s, of course, difficult when your user base is potentially the whole of humanity,” Edwards said. AI has also created new opportunities for cybercriminals. The Federal Bureau of Investigation reported more than 22,000 complaints involving AI-related crimes in 2025, resulting in nearly $900 million in losses. The technology can be used in romance, investment and email scams that appear real. Edwards said AI-generated deepfakes and other scams could affect how people consume and evaluate information. “The institutions and the kind of sources of information that we’ve historically trusted, we won’t know what to believe anymore,” he said. “It’s less about believing false things than it is about never knowing where to put our confidence.” As for how often Granite Staters use AI, 11% of respondents said they use it every day in their personal lives, while 33% said they never use it. The remaining respondents said their usage falls somewhere in between.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tMANCHESTER, N.H. \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n