The increase comes alongside a survey of 1,000 people in the United States by Amerisleep. Around one in five respondents said they had dreamed about artificial intelligence at some point. For 16 percent, these dreams came several times a month, while 9 percent reported them at least weekly. Gen Z stood out, with nearly a quarter having AI-related dreams, and one in six in that group recalling dreams about losing a job to automation.
Nightmares were common in the findings. Among those who experienced them, 93 percent named ChatGPT as the AI they used most. People who regularly read negative news or scrolled social media before bed were found to be 31 percent more likely to have AI nightmares compared with those who avoided such habits.
The content of these dreams varied. Some involved routine exchanges with AI, while others played out as workplace scenarios or imagined AI taking control. In that last category, 31 percent of Gen X respondents and 24 percent of millennials reported such experiences. Emotional responses were evenly divided between curiosity and anxiety, each at 38 percent.
Certain professions appeared more linked to AI dreaming than others. Those in technology, healthcare, retail, arts and entertainment, and scientific research were more likely to report them.
Views on allowing AI to influence dreams were largely negative. Across all ages, 74 percent said they would not want AI to generate dream content, 71 percent rejected reprogramming nightmares, and 70 percent declined using it to change dreams for better rest, creativity, or mental health. Gen Z showed more openness. About 35 percent of that group said they would try AI to improve sleep or creativity, the same proportion would permit reprogramming of bad dreams, and 34 percent would use it to learn new skills or languages while sleeping. Forty percent would allow AI to record and analyze their dreams.
To accompany the research, Amerisleep collected dream accounts and turned them into digital images, producing scenes that ranged from the ordinary to the surreal.
Researchers noted that the patterns seen in these dreams align with AI’s wider presence in everyday life. Generational differences, they said, point to younger people being more willing to test the idea of AI shaping subconscious experiences, even as most remain cautious.
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