Americans fear AI permanently displacing workers, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

Americansare deeply concerned over the prospect that advances in artificial intelligence could put swaths of the country out of workpermanently, according to a newReuters/Ipsospoll.

The six-daypoll, which concluded on Monday, showed 71% of respondents said they were concerned thatAIwill be “putting too many people out of workpermanently.”

The new technology burst into the national conversation in late 2022 whenOpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot launchedand became the fastest-growing application of all time, with tech heavyweights like Facebook owner Meta Platforms, Google owner Alphabetand Microsoftoffering their ownAIproducts.

While at present there are few signs of mass unemployment – theU.S. jobless rate was just 4.2% in July- artificial intelligence is stirring concerns as it reshapes jobs, industries and day-to-day life.

Some 77% of respondents to theReuters/Ipsospollsaid they worried the technology could be used to stir up political chaos, a sign of unease over the now-common use ofAItechnology to create realistic videos of imaginary events.

PresidentDonald Trumplast month posted on social media anAI-generated video of former Democratic president Barack Obama being arrested, an event that never happened.

Americansare also leery about military applications forAI, theReuters/Ipsospollshowed. Some 48% of respondents said the government should never useAIto determine the target of a military strike, compared with 24% who said the government should allow that sort of use of the technology. Another 28% said they were not sure.

The general enthusiasm forAIshown by many people and companies has fueled further investments, such as Foxconnand SoftBank‘splanned data center equipment factory in Ohio. It has alsoupended national security policiesas the United States and Chinavie forAIdominance.

More than half ofAmericans- some 61% – said they were concerned about the amount of electricity needed to power the fast-growing technology.

Google said earlier this month it had signed agreements with two U.S. electric utilities to reduce itsAIdata center power consumption during times of surging demand on the grid, as energy-intensiveAIuse outpaces power supplies.

The new technology has also come under criticism for applications that haveletAIbotshold romantic conversations with children, generate false medical information and help people make racist arguments.

Two-thirds of respondents in theReuters/Ipsospollsaid they worried that people would ditch relationships with other people in favor ofAIcompanions.

People were split on whetherAItechnology will improve education. Some 36% of respondents thought it would help, while 40% disagreed and the rest were not sure.

TheReuters/Ipsossurvey gathered responses online from 4,446 U.S. adults nationwide and had a margin of error of about 2 percentage points.