Tech & AI Across Four Markets
Who we heard from
Openness to tech
Two baseline traits that frame everything that follows: whether respondents see themselves as early adopters, and whether AI is a focus area they're actively planning to engage with.
Chinese respondents have the highest combined openness — strong early-adopter identity (71%) and the highest active intent to learn AI (17%). The US matches on adopter identity but lags on AI focus. Korea and Japan tie on early-adopter (45%) — half their Western counterparts — but Korea is the least likely to actively pursue AI, and Japan punches above its early-adopter weight on AI curiosity.
Tech topics followed
What topics have you followed the most in the past 3–6 months? Please choose up to 5 topics.
China leads attention on AI by a wide margin (37% vs. 24–27%), consistent with its disposition signals. XR / VR / AR is a US-skewed topic (11.8%, almost 2× the others). Korea is conspicuously stock-market-focused (26%) — more than 2× China and US. Hybrid work / digital nomad is the JP/US story; environmental policy interest is concentrated in CN/US.
AI tools used regularly
Which of the products or tools have you been using regularly or own?
The tool stack splits cleanly between China and everywhere else. ChatGPT is the global standard (US 78%, KR 77%, JP 73%) but only 29% in China — where DeepSeek (55%) and Baidu (49%) dominate instead. DeepSeek has also broken outside China, with double-digit adoption in the US (18%). Grok is meaningfully larger in Japan (22%) than elsewhere. VR/AR device ownership is uniformly low (10–14%).
Positive feelings about AI
How do you feel about artificial intelligence (AI) — especially what tech companies have already achieved and what's still to come?
China and the US tie on outright "Positive" (19.3%), but China is more forward-looking — highest on "looking forward to more development" (12.2%) and "helps me connect with family / friends" (9.3%). Japan over-indexes on curiosity (12.3%) but under-indexes on "Positive" (9.1%) — interested but cautious. Korea is the dimmest on every positive dimension.
Concerns about AI
Same question — negative-emotion subset.
Korea is the most worried market across every negative dimension — "concerned" at 13.0% (2× the others), "worried/anxious" at 8.4%, "scared" at 5.2%. China is the calmest by a wide margin (concerned only 2.0%, worried 0.4%) — consistent with its high tool-use and active-engagement posture. The US sits in the middle; Japan slightly above the US on concern but below Korea.
AI's impact on jobs in the next 3 years
What do you think AI will mostly do to jobs in the next 3 years? (Single answer)
Korea fears displacement most — 36% expect AI to "replace many existing jobs", vs. only 15% in China. China and the US frame it as adaptation — China leads "change how most jobs are done" (34%), and both lead on "create more jobs than it replaces" (~20%). Japan is the most hedged — highest "still too early to tell" (18%) of any market.
What gives the greatest advantage in today's job market
In today's job market, what can give people the greatest advantage? (Single answer)
In China, "knowing how to embrace AI at work" is the #1 cited career advantage (23%) — tied with "the right connections". Korea is the second-highest on AI-at-work (20%), suggesting fear of displacement and a fluency premium coexist. The US and Japan put AI fluency below traditional skills, experience, and even diplomas.
What will define global pop culture
What will most define global pop culture in the next few years? (Single answer)
Markets disagree sharply. China bets on AI-created content as the dominant force (35%) and is also distinctly bullish on interactive digital worlds / metaverse (17%, 2× the others). The US and Korea anchor on creator-led platforms (TikTok, YouTube). Korea and Japan rank streaming entertainment higher than the others. The four markets see four different futures.
Biggest long-term threat to humanity
What do you think poses the biggest long-term threat to humanity? (Single answer)
Korea is also the market most likely to name technology or AI risks as the #1 threat (20%) — reinforcing the displacement / sentiment pattern. War / geopolitical conflict tops the list for Japan (29%) and China (26%). The US is more focused on individuals abusing power (21%). Climate is broadly shared (19–24%).
Favorite tech brand
Which tech brand is your favorite?
Apple is the global standard (35–38% in US/KR/JP) — but only 25% in China, where Huawei dominates (30%). Samsung is a US/KR phenomenon (23%/28%), invisible in CN/JP. Google's #1 favourite ranking in Japan (22%) is the strongest non-Apple position in any non-China market. OpenAI breaks the top 10 in KR/JP — the first time a pure-AI company has entered favourite-brand territory at this rank.