A majority of Americans believe artificial intelligence (AI) is developing too quickly and want the US government to prioritise keeping the technology under human control and protecting workers, according to a new poll.
The survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 64% of US adults think AI is developing ‘too fast’, while 27% said its pace was ‘about right’ and only 8% considered it ‘too slow’.
Concerns that powerful AI systems could escape human control and pose a threat to humanity, once largely confined to science fiction, are becoming more pressing. Even leaders of companies developing advanced AI models have called for a slowdown to give government regulation time to catch up.
President Donald Trump has opposed slowing AI development, citing concerns that China could gain a technological advantage. Meanwhile, AI-powered data centres have become a prominent issue in major political races as the US midterm elections approach.
Americans want safeguards and worker protection
About eight in 10 US adults said it was ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ important for the government to ensure AI remains under human control. A similar proportion wanted the government to prioritise protecting the country’s workforce.
Most Americans also considered minimising environmental harm and growing the US economy highly important. About half placed similar importance on promoting technological innovation, while slightly fewer prioritised competing with China.
The poll found broad agreement among Democrats and Republicans on the need to protect workers and keep AI under human control. However, views differed on other priorities.
Republicans were more likely than Democrats to consider economic growth and competition with countries such as China highly important. Democrats, meanwhile, were more likely to say minimising environmental harm was at least ‘very’ important.
About three-quarters of Democrats believed AI was developing too quickly, compared with roughly half of Republicans. People under 30 were also more concerned about the pace of development than those aged 60 and above.
Stephanie Stewart, a 53-year-old junior-high science teacher in Sunset, Utah, expressed frustration with Trump’s opposition to AI regulation.
‘There is no handling of the issue except for we’re just going to allow these companies to do whatever they want, and we’re not going to regulate them,’ she said.
Stewart said she regularly used AI at work to help create assignments and prepare tests, but remained concerned about its effects on children.
‘You’ve got to protect kids. You’ve got to protect teens. You’ve got to protect privacy … we need to try to do something,’ she said.
Concerns over jobs and AI’s wider impact
Ron Theusch, a 58-year-old truck driver from rural Alden, Minnesota, said his biggest concern about AI was the potential loss of jobs, including his own.
‘I can just see a train of self-driving trucks 24/7, just running up and down I-35, loading and unloading. I can just see that happening,’ he said.
Theusch also raised concerns about the possibility of AI developing beyond human control, recalling the science-fiction film ‘Terminator’.
‘There was a movie called “Terminator,” where the robots came back and killed everybody,’ he said.
‘People relate to that … I don’t know where it’s going to land. I really don’t have anything I can do to control it, you know. It’s going to evolve.’
Stewart questioned the argument that the US must accelerate AI development simply because China is doing the same.
‘I don’t understand how, because they’re doing something as well as us, that we can’t be more human about it and more humane about it than just to say, “Well, they’re doing it, so we have to do it,”‘ she said.
Kelly Opp, a 62-year-old Republican in Albuquerque, New Mexico, said AI could be useful in certain applications but was concerned about its potential overuse and impact on personal relationships.
She also worried that easy access to information could make people less inclined to conduct their own research.
‘Like everything else, once you get that ball rolling, it progresses fast on its own, but I think that it will continue to keep progressing. So the speed doesn’t really bother me,’ she said.
Americans lack confidence in both parties on AI
Despite bipartisan concerns about AI, few Americans believe either major political party has a clear advantage in handling the technology.
About 67% of US adults disapproved of Trump’s handling of AI, according to the poll.
Around four in 10 Americans said they trusted neither the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party to handle AI-related issues. Nearly two in 10 trusted both parties equally, while the remaining respondents were divided between those who trusted Republicans and those who trusted Democrats.
Even among people who identified with either party, confidence was limited. Only about half of Republicans and Democrats said their own party was better equipped to handle AI, while roughly three in 10 in each group said neither party was.
Stewart, who described herself as politically moderate, said she saw strengths on both sides but had little confidence in politicians in Washington to address public concerns.
‘Anyone back in Washington is weak on doing anything for anyone but themselves right now. So, no, I don’t think the Democrats would do a better job per se. Maybe they would definitely tout it. But until I see anything coming from anyone, I’m going to be like, “Yeah, no. You’re all just sitting there,”‘ she said.
