Quinnipiac poll finds 15% of Americans open to AI bosses

According to a Quinnipiac University poll published on Monday, 15% of Americans are willing to have a job where their direct supervisor is an AI program. The poll, which surveyed 1,397 adults in the United States, was conducted between March 19 and March 23, 2026, to gauge public sentiment on AI adoption, trust, and job fears. While a small portion of the workforce is open to this shift, the majority of respondents in the United States said they would not be willing to swap their human boss for an AI people manager. An AI people manager is defined as an AI system acting as a supervisor for human employees, rather than a human manager.

While public hesitation remains high, the trend of “The Great Flattening”—defined as the trend of AI replacing layers of management—is already visible across several major corporations. For example, enterprise software company Workday has launched AI agents that file and approve expense reports on behalf of employees. Similarly, technology and e-commerce company Amazon has deployed AI workflows to replace some of the responsibilities of middle management. Additionally, engineers at ride-sharing and technology company Uber built an AI model of CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, which is used by engineers to field pitches before meetings with their actual boss. These examples demonstrate how automated systems are already stepping into roles traditionally held by human managers, accelerating the shift toward flatter organizational structures.

Despite these technological advancements, public anxiety regarding job security in the United States remains widespread. The Quinnipiac University poll found that 70% of respondents believe advances in AI will lead to a decrease in the number of job opportunities. Furthermore, among employed Americans, 30% are concerned that AI would make their job obsolete, expressing that they are either very concerned or somewhat concerned about this outcome. This highlights a stark contrast between corporate automation efforts and the economic concerns of the American workforce, as many fear that the rise of automated management could come at the expense of human employment opportunities.

Why it matters

The poll highlights growing public sentiment regarding the integration of AI into management roles, reflecting broader trends of AI replacing middle management layers in companies like Amazon and Workday.