Most Americans surveyed in a new Quinnipiac University poll said they want independent safety standards for artificial intelligence companies, even if the rules slow development. The national survey found 86% support that requirement and 9% oppose it.
The Sept. 30 release also found 73% were very or somewhat concerned that future AI systems could potentially threaten human survival. That question measured concern about a possible future risk; it did not ask respondents to predict that such an outcome will occur.
Quinnipiac interviewed 1,202 U.S. adults from Sept. 24-27, reporting a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, including the design effect. The results are national, not a separate poll of New York or Finger Lakes residents.
Safety and competition both matter to respondents
In the poll, 30% said companies should stop developing powerful AI systems until their safety can be evaluated, while 47% favored slowing development for evaluation. Fourteen percent preferred the current pace and 5% wanted a faster one.
At the same time, 69% said it is very or somewhat important for the United States to keep up with China in AI development. A separate question found 81% chose safety over staying at the forefront of innovation, compared with 14% who chose innovation. Those responses illustrate competing priorities rather than a direct test of a particular bill or regulation.
Seventy-four percent said they had little or no trust in the leaders of AI companies. Fifty-three percent expected AI to do more harm than good in day-to-day life, compared with 34% who expected more good than harm. The latter result was little changed from Quinnipiac's March poll, the university said.
Data centers remain unpopular
Asked about construction in their own community, 72% opposed an AI data center and 21% supported one. Opposition was 65% in Quinnipiac's March poll. Because each survey is a sample, a seven-point difference should be interpreted with its sampling uncertainty and any differences in the samples in mind.
The data-center question is particularly relevant to communities debating proposed facilities, but the poll does not establish opinion in any particular Finger Lakes town. Local siting decisions, utility costs and land-use effects require project-specific evidence beyond a national attitude survey.
The survey records public preferences at one point in time. It does not show that a particular AI system is safe or unsafe, or that any regulatory proposal would produce the outcomes respondents want.
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