Harvard Survey: Over Half of Men Claim to Know Fictional AI Executives
nordicinst · x · 2026-10-14
WIRED covers a new Harvard Kennedy School Shorenstein Center survey of 5,400+ Americans on AI awareness and a stark gender confidence gap:
- 73% of male respondents claimed to know Sam Altman; 53% said they recognized Mira Murati. More strikingly, over half of men claimed familiarity with Milner and Dalton — two entirely fictional AI executives (vs 40% of women).
- Men use AI more often and answer factual AI questions correctly more often, but men and women guess wrong at similar rates — women simply say "not sure" more often (3.3 more questions on average), while men bluff.
- Executive director Laura Manley notes men are consistently more optimistic and confident about AI, sometimes veering into overconfidence, with gendered repercussions for public discourse.
The full report digs deeper into how this confidence divide shapes AI perception.
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