Majority of Americans express ‘fear and concern’ about AI, say government should regulate it more: CNN poll

By Isabelle LaBianco, Jennifer Agiesta, CNN

(CNN) — Americans regard the growth and development of AI technology with far more fear and concern than hope and excitement, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, with broad partisan agreement that the federal government ought to do more to regulate it.

Those concerns stretch across the realities of AI’s growth today and more speculative possibilities raised by some technologists and whistle-blowers.

Nearly 9 in 10 Americans say they’re more concerned than excited by the possibility that AI could one day surpass human intelligence, and, more concretely, a similar number lean to concern over excitement about the growing number of data centers being constructed to support AI technology. And about 8 in 10 express negative sentiments about the rapid pace of AI development and about the chance that AI technology may fundamentally change our way of life. Fewer than 20% say they largely feel excitement about each of these possibilities.

Looking closer to home, Americans are more likely to say AI technology has a negative effect on their own finances than a positive one (48% negative vs. 18% positive). This is especially true among Americans who make less than $50K a year, who are 6 points likelier than higher earners to say AI has a negative effect on their finances.

All told, 75% of Americans say their feelings about the growth and development of AI technology are closer to fear and concern than hope and excitement, and 43% feel that way strongly.

About 7 in 10 say the federal government is not doing enough to regulate AI’s development. The survey suggests a bipartisan mandate for the government to act, with 85% of Democrats, 67% of independents and 63% of Republicans saying it has not yet done enough. Those findings speak to the unusual political alliances that have formed around the issue, with progressive Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Trump strategist Steve Bannon among those calling for curbs on AI development.

Within the GOP, an ideological divide emerges: 52% of MAGA-identified Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say the government isn’t doing enough so far to regulate AI, compared to 64% of non-MAGA Republicans and Republican-leaners who say the same. President Donald Trump has dismissed concerns about AI as a “HOAX” and touted the potential economic gains of the technology.

AI pessimism runs deeper among Democrats

While concerns about AI generally cut across party lines, negativity about present-day matters related to AI – including its pace of development and the construction of a growing number of data centers – runs notably sharper among Democrats than Republicans. Democrats are 26 points more likely than Republicans to say they’re very concerned about data centers, and 22 points more likely to say they’re very concerned about the pace of AI development.

Most US adults, 63%, say they are following news about the growth and development of AI at least somewhat closely, with a smaller 18% saying they are paying very close attention. With the midterms approaching in November, nearly two-thirds of registered voters say that data centers and AI will be an extremely or very important factor in their vote for Congress, with 36% calling it extremely important – putting the issue far behind topics like the economy, voting and elections, inflation and healthcare. CNN previously reported that more than $31 million has been poured into political ads about data centers this year alone.

Democrats do tend to see it as a deeply important factor more often than Republicans. Almost half of Democratic registered voters, 45%, consider it an extremely important issue, 20 points higher than the share of Republican voters saying the same.

Alongside the partisan trends in views of AI, there is also a gender gap. Women express higher levels of fear and concern than men about the growth and development of AI generally (83% vs. 67%); are more likely to say the government isn’t doing enough to regulate it (75% vs. 67%); and, among registered voters, are much more likely to see it as a deeply important issue in their vote (70% extremely or very important vs. 58% among men).

While anxiety over AI’s rapid pace defies the generational divide – 81% of adults younger than 45 years old say they’re more concerned than excited, nearly identical to the 83% of those 45 and older who say the same – it does expose an educational split. Half of US adults without college degrees say they are very concerned that AI technology may fundamentally change our way of life, compared with 35% of those with a college degree.

CNN’s Ariel Edwards-Levy and Edward Wu contributed to this report.

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The CNN poll was conducted by SSRS online and by telephone September 16-17 among a random national sample of 1,206 adults. Results for the full sample have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.