A new study warns that artificial intelligence is deepening social inequality in the United States, with wealthier and more educated Americans far more likely to be aware of, familiar with, and actively using AI than those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
The research, published in the journal Information, Communication & Technology, was led by Professor Sai Wang and colleagues at the Hong Kong Baptist University. The team analyzed survey data collected from 10,087 U.S. adults through the Pew Research Center's nationally representative American Trends Panel.
The findings are direct: people with higher education or income levels show greater AI awareness, stronger familiarity with the technology, and higher rates of actual use. Of the two measures of socioeconomic status the team examined, education level proved more closely tied to AI usage than household income alone.
The researchers drew a distinction between two concepts that might seem similar but behave differently. AI awareness, in their framework, means recognizing when and where the technology is being used. Familiarity refers to a person's perceived knowledge of AI, regardless of how accurate that self-assessment actually is. That distinction turned out to matter.
"Closing the AI awareness gap is essential, because if only people with higher income or education are aware of AI and its uses, this may reinforce social inequalities," Wang said. "It allows some groups to leverage advanced technologies for their advantage, while others are left behind."
The consequences are practical and immediate. Wang offered a concrete example: job applicants who know that employers use AI to screen resumes can tailor their applications accordingly. Those who don't know such screening exists may be filtered out without ever understanding why.
The risks run in both directions. Greater awareness of AI doesn't just open doors. It also helps people recognize threats. Wang noted that individuals with stronger AI literacy are better positioned to identify deepfakes and other manipulative content, while those with less awareness are more vulnerable to being deceived by the same tools.
Prior research has suggested that wealthier and more educated people tend to have more developed digital skills and are more likely to be encouraged to adopt new technologies, which in turn builds confidence and further increases use. The current study confirms those patterns hold for AI specifically.
Perhaps the most unexpected result involved the relationship between familiarity and awareness. The team found that simply feeling knowledgeable about AI was a stronger predictor of recognizing it in everyday contexts than actually using AI tools. In other words, perceived fluency with the technology shapes how people navigate an AI-saturated environment, even before they engage with it directly.
The study arrives as AI becomes embedded in applications that many people use without realizing it, from social media algorithms to hiring platforms to customer service systems. That hidden quality makes the awareness gap particularly consequential. People cannot advocate for themselves, adjust their behavior, or protect against risks posed by systems they don't know exist.
Wang and her colleagues argue that closing the awareness gap requires deliberate public education efforts, not simply increasing access to AI products. Exposure alone, their data suggests, is not enough to build the kind of informed familiarity that translates into real advantage.
