A new national survey commissioned by Northeastern University and conducted by Gallup finds most U.S. adults have an overall positive view of artificial intelligence, but believe they are ill-prepared to deal with AI’s expected impact on the global digital economy. The survey comes on the heels of numerous international studies forecasting significant job loss resulting from AI.

According to the survey, 79 percent of Americans say AI has had a “mostly positive” or “very positive” impact on their lives thus far, and 76 percent agree or strongly agree AI will fundamentally change the way people will work and live over the next 10 years.

Overall, 22 percent of Americans with a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education say their college or university studies prepared them well or very well to work with AI. Moreover, only 18 percent are extremely confident they could secure the education needed to obtain a comparable job should they lose their current position to advances in new technology.

Despite the optimism, a clear majority of Americans, 73 percent, expect the increased use of AI will eliminate more jobs than it creates. Additionally, 63 percent say the emergence of new technology and smart machines will widen the gap between rich and poor in the U.S.

Read the full article about higher education preparing for AI jobs at News @ Northeastern