Is artificial intelligence a scourge or a blessing? Will it steal your work or help you do it more effectively? Does it promise better days to humanity or is it about to destroy it? These existential questions accompanying the AI revolution in our societies cause existential anxieties linked to their professional security or the destiny of humanity. To the point that the new technology infiltrates to the deepest of our subconscious, in our dreams. This is in any case what a recent survey suggests by survey.
The study, published on March 12, 2025 by the manufacturer of American mattress Amerisleep, consisted in asking a series of questions to 1,000 Americans about the AI in their dreams. Result: 56% of participants said they dreamed of it less than once a month. On the other hand, 18% said they dreamed of it regularly, at least once over this same period. The phenomenon would be partly generational, since almost one in four participants belonging to generation Z claims to be concerned.
Amerisleep then asked the participants if their dreams were positive, neutral or negative. 29% of them said that their dreams were pleasant, 36% that they were generally neutral, and 35% that they were nightmares. “The emotions linked to these dreams were shared. Curiosity (38%) and anxiety or stress (38%) were the most frequently mentioned feelings ”describes the study.
Night claws
A large part of the participants make nightmares at the idea that AI can take control of the world (27%), that it replaces them in their employment (19%), or that it can control and manipulate them (18%). Other less anxiety -provoking dreams are frequent. Often, individuals simply discuss with artificial intelligence as if it were a real person (26%). The growing place occupied every day by Chatgpt, Perplexity and the others in our daily life necessarily feeds our subconscious and influences our dreams.
Futurism magazine recalls the speech of actor Nicolas Cage who had grabbed the subject during the last ceremony of the Saturn Awards, where he won the prize for best actor for his role in Dream Scenario. “I am convinced that you should not let the robots dream for us”he said.
The actor had then spun the metaphor until his artistic field, warning against a possible corruption of cinema by AI: “Robots cannot reflect the human condition. It is an impasse if an actor lets a robot manipulate his performance, even a little bit. One centimeter will become a kilometer and all the integrity, purity and truth of art will be replaced by simple financial interests. ”
