The U.S. Public Wants Regulation (or Prohibition) of Expert‑Level and Superhuman AI

What we drew from this source

The claims Via News extracted from this document. We point to the source; we don't replace it.

• OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, Google, Meta, and others have openly declared they are racing to expert-level or superhuman AI, while many actively hamper efforts to create meaningful guardrails.

  80% confidence

• International scientific organizations ranked first among entities the public believes should determine the trajectory of advanced AI, with national government agencies a close second.

  80% confidence

• Two-thirds (69%) of surveyed Americans trust AI researchers at universities and non-profits, and international bodies most for AI safety guidance.

  80% confidence

• AI companies and their leadership score significantly lower than scientific institutions in public trust for AI safety guidance.

  80% confidence

• A majority of adults (57%) are not bought in to the development of expert-level AI under current conditions; 17% feel it should never be developed and 40% feel it should be halted until proven controllable and safe.

  80% confidence

• 49% of surveyed Americans expect superhuman AI to be developed within 5 years.

  80% confidence

• Top reasons supporting development of advanced AI included solving major social and scientific challenges and creating abundance.

  80% confidence

• 69% of Americans think the government is not doing enough to regulate the use of AI.

  80% confidence

• Two-thirds of adults worry that advanced AI is likely (61% or greater chance) to cause significant harm to humanity if developed without proper safeguards.

  80% confidence

• Top reasons cited for not developing advanced AI centered around human extinction or enfeeblement and concentration of power.

  80% confidence

• 40% of Americans think AI will have a negative impact on society, and only 29% expect it to have a positive impact.

  80% confidence

• A majority of adults (59%) have little or no confidence in US companies to develop and use AI responsibly.

  80% confidence

• Almost half (44%) of Americans think AI will do more harm than good, while only 38% think the opposite.

  80% confidence

• Only 5% of surveyed Americans support the status quo of fast, unregulated AI development.

  80% confidence

• Two-thirds (64%) of surveyed adults would like to see an immediate pause on the development of advanced AI until the technology is proven to be safe.

  80% confidence

• 49% of surveyed Americans think expert-level AI will be developed within 2 years.

  80% confidence

• Around half of respondents expect that advanced AI will be developed quickly with minimal safeguards, despite not wanting this outcome.

  80% confidence

• There is a clear disconnect between the stated mission of leading AI companies and the wishes of the American public.

  80% confidence

• Three-quarters (74%) of adults are concerned about the possibility of AI resulting in the concentration of power in technology companies.

  80% confidence

• 73% of surveyed Americans support slow, heavily regulated AI development, approximately matching the proportion wanting pharmaceutical-style regulation with extensive testing before deployment.

  80% confidence

• There is overwhelming support (73%) for robust regulation on AI among surveyed Americans, with only 12% opposed to strong regulation.

  80% confidence

• This is the first public large-scale survey specifically addressing U.S. public attitudes toward the development of advanced AI systems of the type referred to as AGI and superintelligence.

  80% confidence

• One-third (37%) of adults are concerned that AI could cause the end of the human race on earth.

  80% confidence

• Respondents with higher AI knowledge tend to appreciate both upsides and downsides of advanced AI and demand tighter safeguards.

  80% confidence

• Almost two-thirds (64%) of surveyed Americans feel that superhuman AI should not be developed until it is proven safe and controllable, or should never be developed.

  80% confidence