More and more studies are showing people are divided between AI friendly misanthropes and Technophobic extroverts.

Do you fear or distrust AI and struggle to understand why others don’t? Do you trust AI and feel more comfortable with it than with actual humans? A growing trend shows that declining interpersonal trust, where 66 percent of U.S. adults distrust others (Pew Research 2025), rising social fears, with 40 percent fearing walking alone at night and 80 percent worried about crime (Gallup 2025), and ideological polarization, where 15 to 22 percent of Americans, especially younger and more liberal individuals, cut off friends or family over ideological differences (AEI, Skeptic Research, APA 2024) and 46 percent avoid political discussions entirely (Pew 2020), are driving a preference for AI over human interactions, while deepening social isolation. Research from Ohio State, Newcastle, MIT Sloan, Penn State, Lindenwood, the University of Kentucky, and others indicates that those with lower fear or distrust of AI, often tied to positive emotions or distrust in humans, prefer AI for companionship, customer service, decision-making, or therapy. Gender dynamics further erode trust, with 50 to 75 percent of men, particularly young singles, avoiding approaching women due to fears of being seen as inappropriate (Date Psychology, Happn, StaturePR 2023-2025), and women fearing male violence, with 18.3 percent lifetime rape prevalence (CDC 2010). These dynamics of low trust, heightened fear, and polarization create a feedback loop where AI becomes a safer, more predictable alternative, but also exacerbate social fragmentation as people retreat from relationships misaligned with their principles. This reflects a rise in classic misanthropy, as defined by Ian James Kidd, where a misanthrope distrusts and dislikes others, viewing them as unreliable or threatening, as seen in actions like avoiding social interactions (50 to 75 percent male avoidance), cutting off ties (15 to 22 percent), or seeking AI companionship (Newcastle). Political misanthropy appears in distrust of societal systems, with 60 percent distrusting billionaires (UMass Amherst 2025), moral misanthropy in ideological cutoffs (15 to 22 percent), and existential misanthropy in loneliness and despair over human threats (18.3 percent female victimization). Capitalism, with 30 percent job automation by 2030 (McKinsey 2023), peer pressure, and identity politics, with 80 percent in homogeneous networks (Pew 2020), fuel this misanthropic trend, making AI an appealing refuge but deepening isolation as society evolves.