Americans are increasingly turning against artificial intelligence, with growing majorities saying they fear the fast-moving technology will take away their jobs and hurt education, according to a new Quinnipiac poll.
Fifty-five percent of Americans say AI will do more harm than good in their day-to-day lives, an 11% increase since last April, according to poll results released Monday.
Americans’ worries are worsening as companies channel huge sums into deploying the technology, which has become an engine for US economic growth. Together, Amazon.com Inc, Meta Platforms Inc, Google and Microsoft Corp plan to spend a combined US$650bil (RM2.6 trillion) this year on AI infrastructure.
AI billionaires such as venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and OpenAI President Greg Brockman have poured tens of millions of dollars into the upcoming US midterm elections to elect AI-friendly candidates and lobby for light-touch regulation.
Data centre construction has emerged as one of the most potent AI-related battles in the upcoming midterm elections, following outcries in communities across the country. Sixty-five percent of Americans oppose the building of any AI data centres in their community. The impact on electricity costs, water use and noise were the main reasons cited by poll respondents.
The Quinnipiac poll tracks with other surveys that show Americans are increasingly concerned about AI-related job loss and misinformation. One poll from NBC News showed voters like AI even less than Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Public fears mirror warnings sounded by some prominent figures within the AI industry. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei earlier this year cautioned that AI will trigger an "unusually painful” disruption in the job market.
Seventy percent of Americans think advancements in AI are likely to reduce job opportunities, 14% more than said so last year. Only 7% said they think advancements in AI are likely to increase job opportunities.
A slight majority of Americans said they oppose the military using AI to select military targets, while 36% support it. The polling was conducted after reports revealed the Pentagon used Anthropic PBC’s AI technology to conduct military operations in Venezuela and Iran.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans said they think AI will worsen education in the country while only 27% said they thought the technology will improve schools, Quinnipiac surveyed 1,397 US adults by phone in mid-March. The margin of error is 3.3%. – Bloomberg
