A new national survey found widespread concern about artificial intelligence, with 75% of Americans expressing more fear than optimism and 71% saying the federal government is not doing enough to regulate the technology.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
Public unease over artificial intelligence is widespread across the United States, with Americans expressing concern about the technology’s rapid development, expanding data-center footprint, economic effects and potential to surpass human intelligence, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS.
The survey found that 75% of Americans place themselves closer to fear and concern when thinking about the growth of AI, compared with 25% who lean more toward hope and excitement.
Forty-three percent said they strongly identify with the fearful or concerned view, while only 7% described themselves as strongly hopeful or excited.
Concern extended across political affiliations, although the degree varied by party.
Among Democrats, 85% said their feelings about AI lean toward fear and concern. The same was true for 77% of independents and 62% of Republicans.
The survey also showed a substantial gender difference. Eighty-three percent of women expressed greater fear and concern, compared with 67% of men.
Age produced another divide, although anxiety remained prevalent across generations. Seventy-nine percent of adults younger than 50 said they leaned toward concern about AI, compared with 68% of respondents 65 and older.
Americans expressed even stronger concern when asked about particular developments involving the technology.
Eighty-eight percent said they would be concerned if artificial intelligence eventually became more intelligent than humans, including 56% who said such a development would make them very concerned.
The physical expansion necessary to support AI systems also generated widespread unease. Eighty-seven percent said they were concerned about the growing number of data centers being constructed for artificial intelligence.
Eighty-two percent expressed concern about the speed at which AI is advancing, while 81% worried that the technology could fundamentally alter their way of life.
Economic concerns were also evident.
Forty-eight percent of respondents said the increasing use of AI is negatively affecting their personal financial situation. Eighteen percent reported a positive effect.
The negative assessment was particularly pronounced among younger adults. Among people under 45, 55% said artificial intelligence was hurting their finances.
The public’s concerns are translating into demands for greater government involvement.
Seventy-one percent of Americans said the federal government is not doing enough to regulate artificial intelligence. Eighteen percent said Washington is regulating the technology about the right amount, while 10% said the government is doing too much.
Majorities within each major political group said federal oversight remains insufficient.
Eighty-five percent of Democrats said the government is not doing enough, along with 67% of independents and 63% of Republicans.
Artificial intelligence and the infrastructure supporting it could also become a significant consideration for voters in the November midterm elections.
Among registered voters, 64% said AI and data centers will be extremely or very important to their congressional vote this year.
Seventy-one percent of Democratic registered voters described the issue as extremely or very important, compared with 58% of Republicans.
The issue has also attracted substantial public attention. Sixty-three percent of Americans said they have followed news about artificial intelligence either very or somewhat closely.
The findings come as AI systems expand into workplaces, consumer products and digital services while companies build additional computing infrastructure to support increasingly powerful models.
The CNN survey shows that despite the technology’s growing reach, optimism remains substantially less common than apprehension among Americans, with concerns extending from personal finances and data-center construction to federal regulation and the possibility of machines eventually exceeding human intelligence.
SSRS conducted the poll Sept. 16-17 among 1,206 U.S. adults using its Opinion Panel. Respondents participated online and by telephone in English and Spanish. The survey has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
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