May 17 (Reuters) – Most Americans polled in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday said the rapid growth of artificial intelligence technology could endanger humanity’s future. Stated.
More than two-thirds of Americans are concerned about the negative impacts of AI, and 61% believe AI could threaten civilization.
Ever since OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot became the fastest growing application of all time, AI has been at the forefront of public debate as it has been widely integrated into everyday life. ChatGPT kicked off an AI arms race in which tech giants such as Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Google (GOOGL.O) vie to outperform each other’s AI achievements.
Lawmakers and AI companies are also concerned, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testifying before the U.S. Congress on Tuesday, expressing concern about the technology’s potential abuse and calling for regulation.
“There’s no way to put this genie in a bottle. We’re seeing an explosion of this globally,” said one of the many lawmakers questioning the best way to regulate AI at the Senate Committee on AI Use on Tuesday. said Senator Cory Booker.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that Americans are three times more likely to foresee a negative impact from AI than those who do not.
The data shows that 61% of respondents believe AI poses a risk to humanity, but only 22% disagree and 17% remain unsure.
Those who voted for Donald Trump in 2020 expressed a higher level of concern. 70% of Trump voters agreed that AI could threaten humanity, compared to 60% of Joe Biden voters.
In terms of religious beliefs, evangelical Christians were more likely to “strongly agree” that AI poses a risk to humanity, with 32% compared to 24% of non-evangelical Christians.
Landon Klein, U.S. policy director at the Future of Life Institute, the group behind the open letter co-signed with Tesla Inc. It speaks to their concern about the negative impact,” he said. CEO Elon Musk calls for a six-month moratorium on AI research. “We equate the present to the beginning of the nuclear age and benefit from public awareness consistent with the need to take action.”
While Americans are concerned about AI, crime and the economy rank high on their list of issues on the table. 77% support increased police funding to fight crime, and 82% are concerned about the risk of a recession.
Industry insiders said the public needs to understand more about the benefits of AI.
“The concerns are very legitimate, but I think what’s missing from the dialogue in general is why do we do things like this in the first place?” “AI will improve people’s quality of life and make them more effective and efficient,” Thran said.
Ion Stoika, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley and co-founder of the AI company Anyscale, said aggressive applications of AI, such as revolutionary drug discovery, are less visible than ChatGPT.
“Americans may not realize how pervasive AI is already in their daily lives, whether at home or at work,” he said.
The online poll was conducted from May 9th to May 15th with 4,415 adults in the United States. Confidence intervals, a measure of precision, are plus or minus two percentage points.
Reported by Anna Tong of San Francisco.Editing: Ken Lee and Lisa Shoemaker
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