Most Americans polled in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Wednesday said the rapid growth of artificial intelligence technology could jeopardize the future of humanity.
More than two-thirds of Americans are concerned about the harmful effects 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 surged to the forefront of public debate as it is widely integrated into everyday life. ChatGPT has kicked off the AI arms race, with tech giants such as Microsoft and Google vying to outperform each other in 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 the bottle. Globally, this is exploding,” said one of 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. “This is a lot,” said Landon Klein, director of U.S. policy at the Future of Life Institute, the group behind the open letter co-signed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. of Americans are concerned about the negative effects of AI,” he said. AI research suspended for 6 months. “We see the present as the beginning of the nuclear age, and we are benefiting 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.
