A majority of American voters believe the costs of artificial intelligence outweigh the benefits, according to a new survey, and they don’t trust either political party to handle the issues the technology will create adequately.
A new national survey of registered U.S. voters, conducted by NBC News, found only 34% believe the benefits of AI outweigh the cost, compared to 57% who said the opposite. Additionally, only 26% of voters hold favorable views of AI, and 46% hold actively negative views.
The poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters from Feb. 27 to March 3 through phone interviews and an online survey.
The survey polled on the popularity of AI among various public figures and institutions, including President Trump, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and Iran.
AI’s 26% popularity score was the second-lowest in the survey, with Iran rounding out the bottom of the list with 8% favorability.
A significant portion of voters 33% said that both Republicans and Democrats are inadequate in addressing AI policy. Furthermore, 24% of voters saw little difference between the parties on this issue. When asked which party was better, only a slight margin favored Republicans, 20%, over Democrats, 19%.
The polling revealed a stark age divide in how voters see AI, with men and women aged 18-34 reporting a minus 44 and minus 41 favorability rating for the technology, respectively, compared to plus 2 for men over 50.
As AI becomes more competent and complex, there is widespread uncertainty regarding its impact on the U.S. workforce. For years, AI industry leaders have cautioned that the technology will likely lead to job elimination within the tech sector as companies seek to reduce labor costs.
Still, some estimates suggest that AI could ultimately create more jobs than it eliminates. Data released by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation in December shows that approximately 12,700 jobs were lost due to AI, compared to the creation of 119,900 new jobs through AI data centers.
Additionally, companies that rushed to replace some workers with AI have begun rehiring content writers, software engineers and customer service workers following customer complaints. Workforce development firm Careerminds released a survey last month that found roughly a third of companies that conducted AI-focused layoffs had rehired from 25% to 50% of the roles they cut.
• Sean Salai contributed to this report.
