In summary, the respondents demonstrate a mix of optimism and concern regarding AI. While many see great potential, there are significant worries about the societal implications, especially around privacy, security, jobs, and AI becoming too powerful. Desired applications center on medicine, education, and assistive tools, while many want strict limitations on AI's role to prevent negative consequences. More public education on AI may help inform opinions.
Responses came from 36 U.S. states and were 54.5% female and 45.5% male. Please refer to the complete survey results for more detailed demographic information. While the service we chose to conduct our poll does not compensate users financially for their responses, it does offer them incentives in the form of game rewards and free online offers. Thus, we might expect an audience skewed toward tech enthusiasts and early adopters to be more favorable towards AI than the population at large.
None of the respondents mentioned AI's carbon footprint or consumption of water and energy resources. The environmental costs of AI must also be weighed against its potential benefits.
In its concluding remarks above, the AI implies that public education will be enough to quell the public's misgivings. However, concerns voiced in the survey are valid and likely to persist over time. It is easy to call for regulation as the answer, but the quality of the laws enacted ultimately depends on citizens who are informed and engaged. The industry doesn't need a PR campaign. It needs to work to genuinely understand and address users' reservations and frustrations.