Report Finds Broad Adoption of AI in New Jersey – and Strong Support for Regulation

Rutgers researchers find most state residents have used at least one artificial intelligence tool and see the technology as helpful, but many say it will eliminate more jobs than it creates

Most New Jersey residents now use artificial intelligence (AI) tools in school, at work or in daily life, but remain concerned about the technology’s broader societal impact, particularly on employment and high-stakes decision-making by law enforcement, hospitals, financial institutions and universities, according to a report led by Rutgers University-New Brunswick researchers.

The researchers examined how residents throughout the state use AI and how they think it should be regulated.
"We are witnessing a shift in workplace expectations, especially in higher-skilled fields," said Katherine Ognyanova, an associate professor in the School of Communication and Information and coauthor of the study. "More than a quarter of employed New Jersey adults say their jobs now require the use of AI tools. That trend is even more pronounced among graduate-degree holders, where 44% report that AI use is required in their work."

Researchers behind the survey – conducted between July 30 and Aug. 18 by the National AI Opinion Monitor, a Rutgers-led effort to track public views on AI – collected responses from 5,139 adults in the United States and 1,728 New Jersey residents ages 18 and older. The researchers examined AI use at work and in school as well as public attitudes toward oversight, comparing New Jersey results with national averages.

At the state level, AI has quickly become part of everyday life. Since AI tools first became widely available, 74% of New Jersey residents report having ever used at least one, compared with 68% of the U.S. population. Awareness is also high: 81% of residents have heard of ChatGPT (versus 75% nationally), and 57% say they have used it at least once (versus 49% nationally).

The researchers also found that younger, more educated and higher-income residents are more likely to use AI. They found that 92% of adults ages 18 to 24 have used at least one AI tool, compared with 54% of those 65 and older.

Evaluating AI use by gender, survey responses revealed that AI use is higher among men (82%) than women (67%).

In terms of using AI at work, while 57% of New Jerseyans say AI will eliminate more jobs than it creates in the broader economy, it is common practice for them to use AI tools at work. Forty-one percent of employed New Jersey adults said they use AI tools for work at least weekly and 28% reported that AI use is required in their jobs. The survey also found AI requirements at work are highest for people with graduate degrees (44%).

University students in New Jersey use AI at rates that are similar to other students nationwide, with 45% reporting frequent use for schoolwork. Notably, New Jersey instructors are more likely to discourage AI use (34%) compared with instructors nationally (24%). Close to two-thirds of students (65%) admit to having used AI to cheat at school.

"AI has become a routine part of schoolwork for many students in New Jersey, with almost half reporting frequent use," Ognyanova said. "Yet instructors in the state are more likely to discourage AI use compared to educators nationally. There is clearly a mismatch between classroom guidelines and student behavior. Perhaps as a result, nearly two-thirds of students admit to using AI in ways that could be considered cheating. 

Despite broad adoption, New Jerseyans express strong concerns about how AI should and shouldn’t be used. For example, New Jerseyans:

• Oppose using AI tools to make high-stakes decisions. Seven- to nine percent say AI should make final decisions about who gets loans, released on parole, gets medical priority, admitted into college or hired.
• Support AI regulation. Fifty-nine percent favor strict regulation because of potential risks. A slim majority (51%) say both federal and state governments should be involved in regulating AI.
• Support AI transparency policies. Eighty-five percent say companies should disclose whether users are interacting with AI or a human and 79% believe creating AI-generated images of real people without permission should be illegal.

"While residents of New Jersey are embracing AI tools at high rates, there is a strong support for AI regulation and guardrails,” Ognyanova said. “Transparency is particularly important: over four in five respondents support labeling AI-generated content and believe companies should disclose when users are interacting with an AI system rather than a human."

The report was coauthored by Rutgers doctoral degree student Eunbin Ha; Vivek Singh, an associate professor of library and information science at Rutgers; and Ata Uslu, a computer scientist and doctoral researcher in network science at Northeastern University.