AI Just Cracked America’s Top 10 Fears (My Local Ones Differ)

Chapman University has released its 12th annual Survey of American Fears, and for the first time, artificial intelligence is in the top 10. In fact, it’s in there twice. Just over half of Americans (51.9%) fear AI could harm the political process, which ranks third. Another 49.7% worry it will hurt the economy, which ranks seventh.

Americans’ Top 10 Fears of 2026

1. Corrupt government officials (61.1%)
2. U.S. becoming involved in another world war (58%)
3. Artificial intelligence harming the political process (51.9%)
4. People I love becoming seriously ill (51.8%)
5. People I love dying (50.6%)
6. Economic/financial collapse (50.6%)
7. Artificial intelligence hurting the economy (49.7%)
8. Government tracking of personal data (48.9%)
9. Biological warfare (48.2%)
10. Terrorist attack (47.3%)

Source: Chapman University

National surveys are one thing. Mine is more local, and a little odd.

Wildfire tops it. I picture one racing down a canyon and toward town. Smoke season is close behind. Nothing makes me sigh like hearing, in late summer, that the smoke will stick around until the snow flies in the mountains.

Then there’s the water. Someone once told me that if something ever happened to Grand Coulee Dam, homes above the irrigation canals in our valley would be safe. I can’t verify that, and I’ve never stopped thinking about it.

The outdoors adds a few more. Meeting a rattlesnake, a mountain lion, or a bear while running or biking in the foothills is one. Getting caught in a backcountry avalanche is another. I suspect cougars have seen me out there, and I’d rather not think about it.

Skiing in the backcountry near here and getting caught up in an avalanche.

The Fear With a Date on It

One of mine isn’t hypothetical. On August 6, 1974, a Burlington Northern tank car exploded at the Appleyard in South Wenatchee. Two people died, and 66 were injured. Anyone who lived here then remembers it. So when a train rolls through carrying something that can burn or blow up, I notice.

My last two are smaller. A badly timed frost or downpour that wipes out the fruit harvest would hurt this whole valley. And people who don’t signal in our roundabouts make me twitch. I use my blinker every time, so you know where I’m exiting.

What’s on your list? Chapman’s survey says most of us fear something. I’d bet the ones you carry are closer to home than the top 10.