AI avoidance — AI data 2026 | Stack Overflow Developer Survey

Developer Survey 2026

Question

Do you try to avoid using AI tools or agents at work or school? Select the option below that most accurately reflects your reasoning.

single select
Optional
v2026.1

Data

	Respondents	Percent
I do not avoid using AI at work or school	5,728	41.3%
Concern over losing job skills or training an AI to replace you	2,367	17.1%
Moral or ethical concerns	2,108	15.2%
Issues with privacy or security	1,802	13.0%
Environmental concerns	1,129	8.2%
Other, please specify:	369	2.7%
Difficulty or lack of training	354	2.6%

Use this data

Citation

Response data is released under the ODbL 1.0, which asks that you attribute it.

Stack Exchange Inc. (2026). “AI avoidance”. Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2026. Licensed under ODbL 1.0. https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2026/ai/data/ai-avoid

JSON

Structured for code, with the question, the year and the source url alongside the numbers.

{
  "question": "AI avoidance",
  "dataId": "AIAvoid",
  "asked": "Do you try to avoid using AI tools or agents at work or school? Select the option below that most accurately reflects your reasoning.",
  "year": "2026",
  "url": "https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2026/ai/data/ai-avoid",
  "demographic": {
    "id": "all-respondents",
    "type": "all",
    "name": "All Respondents",
    "n": 13857,
    "share": null
  },
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  "columns": [
    {
      "key": "response",
      "header": "AI avoidance",
      "unit": "",
      "numeric": false
    },
    {
      "key": "count",
      "header": "Respondents",
      "unit": "",
      "numeric": true
    },
    {
      "key": "pct",
      "header": "Percent",
      "unit": "%",
      "numeric": true
    }
  ],
  "licence": {
    "name": "ODbL 1.0",
    "url": "https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1-0/",
    "holder": "Stack Exchange Inc."
  },
  "source": "Stack Overflow Developer Survey",
  "data": [
    {
      "response": "I do not avoid using AI at work or school",
      "count": 5728,
      "pct": 0.413
    },
    {
      "response": "Concern over losing job skills or training an AI to replace you",
      "count": 2367,
      "pct": 0.171
    },
    {
      "response": "Moral or ethical concerns",
      "count": 2108,
      "pct": 0.152
    },
    {
      "response": "Issues with privacy or security",
      "count": 1802,
      "pct": 0.13
    },
    {
      "response": "Environmental concerns",
      "count": 1129,
      "pct": 0.082
    },
    {
      "response": "Other, please specify:",
      "count": 369,
      "pct": 0.027
    },
    {
      "response": "Difficulty or lack of training",
      "count": 354,
      "pct": 0.026
    }
  ]
}

Markdown

A formatted table, ready to paste into a document, an issue or a prompt.

|  | Respondents | Percent |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| I do not avoid using AI at work or school | 5,728 | 41.3% |
| Concern over losing job skills or training an AI to replace you | 2,367 | 17.1% |
| Moral or ethical concerns | 2,108 | 15.2% |
| Issues with privacy or security | 1,802 | 13.0% |
| Environmental concerns | 1,129 | 8.2% |
| Other, please specify: | 369 | 2.7% |
| Difficulty or lack of training | 354 | 2.6% |

Spreadsheet

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