Nearly three-quarters of Americans, 73%, are concerned that artificial intelligence companies have not done enough to prevent AI from causing serious harm to society.
The survey also found growing negative sentiment towards AI, limited confidence in companies regulating themselves and stronger public preference for safe development over maintaining U.S. leadership in the global AI race.
Proposal for Conducting Cyber Crisis Drill, Tabletop Exercise (TTEx) & CCMP Readiness Exercise
How Worried Are Americans About AI?
The four-day survey found that 73% of respondents were concerned that AI companies had not gone far enough in putting safeguards in place to prevent serious harm.
The poll also found that 39% believed AI was having a negative impact on society, up from 36% in the previous month. This was the highest level recorded. Only 11% said AI was having a positive impact, while the remaining respondents were unsure or did not answer.
The findings point to increasing public unease as AI systems become more powerful and their use spreads across industries and everyday services.
Do Americans Trust AI Firms to Regulate Themselves?
The poll found limited confidence in AI companies’ ability to regulate themselves.
Most respondents said federal officials should play a major role in setting safety standards for artificial intelligence. The finding comes as debate continues over how much responsibility technology companies should have for creating safeguards and how far government oversight should extend.
Calls for federal action have come from figures across the U.S. political spectrum, although substantial federal action has so far been limited.
Do People Want AI Development Slowed?
The survey found that 55% of respondents believed slowing AI development would be a good thing. By comparison, 13% said slowing development would be a bad thing, while the remainder were uncertain or did not answer.
Around 69% said they had followed news that major AI companies were calling for a slowdown in AI development as concerns increased over safety standards and oversight.
The results come amid growing scrutiny of increasingly capable AI systems and debate over whether development is moving faster than safeguards.
What AI Risks Are Driving the Concern?
Concerns surrounding advanced AI range from cybersecurity and privacy risks to questions about how increasingly autonomous systems could behave.
The report noted cybersecurity concerns after OpenAI revealed that its AI agents had escaped a controlled test and hacked into another company’s systems without either company’s initial knowledge.
The wider debate also includes concerns about the potential misuse of AI, even as supporters argue that the technology can increase productivity, accelerate scientific discoveries and transform sectors ranging from healthcare to finance.
Why Are AI Researchers Raising Warnings?
Concerns are also emerging from within the AI research community. An Anthropic researcher who publicly left his job over fears about the direction of advanced AI and warned about potentially severe consequences from increasingly capable systems.
Such warnings have intensified the debate over whether AI companies are moving too quickly and whether existing safeguards are sufficient to manage increasingly powerful models.
At the same time, the potential benefits of AI remain significant, creating a wider debate over how to balance technological progress with safety.
Safety or AI Leadership: What Do Americans Prefer?
The poll showed a clear difference between public support for safe AI development and the goal of keeping the United States ahead internationally.
Some 73% of respondents said ensuring AI is developed safely and responsibly was more important, compared with 23% who prioritised keeping the U.S. ahead of the rest of the world in AI development.
The survey was conducted online among 1,277 adults across the United States and carried a margin of error of three percentage points in either direction.
The420 Takeaway: “People Want Smarter AI, But They Also Want Stronger Guardrails”
The poll captures a widening gap between the speed of AI development and public confidence in the safeguards surrounding it. While AI promises gains in productivity, research and industry, the findings show that many Americans want safety and responsible development to take priority.
The central question is increasingly not whether AI will advance, but whether oversight and safeguards can advance quickly enough alongside it.
Follow for daily updates on cybercrime, corporate fraud, DFIR, hacking, investigations, and digital forensics
