As AI expands, Americans have doubts
Marketplace
Marketplace
4.6 • 8.5K Ratings
🗓️ 26 January 2026
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Artificial intelligence is one of a handful of industries propelling this economy forward. But as the sector explodes, not everyone is on board. Americans are much more concerned about the downsides of AI than excited about its potential utility, according to a new Pew Research survey. In this episode, everyday Americans grapple with — and in some cases, fight back against — the proliferation of AI technology. Plus: Durable goods orders were up in November, gold prices continue to break records, and “Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal tours a data center in Los Angeles.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Worried about your future in tech? |
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| 0:22.1 | Transform your team. |
| 0:24.1 | Ready to tap in? |
| 0:25.9 | Visit us at pluralsight.com to learn more. |
| 0:31.0 | On the program today, macroeconomics in two flavors, gold and AI. |
| 0:38.0 | From American public media, this is Marketplace. |
| 0:47.6 | In Los Angeles, I'm Kai Rizal. It is Monday. Today, this one is the 26th of January. Good as it always is. |
| 0:57.0 | To have you along, everybody. We are going to begin today with a story that's not really about the story that you think is going to be the story. I know. But stick with me. I'll go slow. |
| 1:08.9 | Gold has been, and there's really no other word for it, simply soaring. |
| 1:13.2 | Futures topped $5,000 an ounce over the weekend. |
| 1:16.6 | First time that has ever happened. |
| 1:18.6 | And 5,000 in change per Troy ounce is almost twice what gold was just a year ago. |
| 1:24.6 | And that's been happening, and here's the twist. |
| 1:27.3 | As it's been happening, gold has |
| 1:28.6 | started to displace dollar-denominated assets in the holdings of central banks around the world. |
| 1:34.3 | Reuters reports gold now slightly outvalues treasury bonds in those holdings, and data from the |
| 1:39.9 | IMF shows U.S. dollar assets now account for less than half of those holdings in absolute |
... |
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