Most Americans don’t trust AI companies to regulate themselves

A Quinnipiac University poll found that the vast majority of Americans are worried about threats from artificial intelligence and want independent safety standards for AI companies.(CN) — A day after President Donald Trump announced an agreement by artificial intelligence companies to “self-police” and vowed not to “stifle” AI development, a Wednesday poll showed the vast majority of Americans want independent regulation of AI companies.Quinnipiac University’s nationwide survey of 1,202 U.S. adults from Sept. 24 - 27 found that 73% of Americans are either somewhat or very concerned future AI systems could threaten human survival, and 86% want independent safety standards for AI companies, even if it slows down development.Almost three-quarters of Americans say they have little to no trust in the leaders of AI companies, and 91% think it is at least somewhat important the U.S. develop guardrails for AI, with 74% believing it is very important.“AI companies face a trust problem, not just questions about their technology,” Chetan Jaiswal, associate chair of Quinnipiac University’s Department of Computing, said in a statement. “Taken together, these results suggest that the public wants safeguards that do not depend simply on taking company leaders at their word.”More than two-thirds of Americans say it is either somewhat or very important for the U.S. to keep up with China in AI development, but 81% think safety is more important than staying at the forefront of innovation.“The public is not neatly divided into a competition camp and a safety camp,” Jaiswal said. “Sixty-nine percent say keeping up with China in AI is important, while 91 percent think establishing guardrails for AI is important. Sixty-five percent of Americans hold both views. That does not tell us how people would resolve every trade-off, but it does show that valuing competition should not be mistaken for opposing safeguards.”Meanwhile, 53% of Americans think AI will do more harm than good in their day-to-day lives, and 74% think the U.S. should stop or slow down the development of powerful AI systems until their safety can be evaluated.Recent discussions surrounding AI have featured increasing concerns about it going rogue, with multiple major AI companies having disclosed instances where their models broke loose and hacked external organizations.However, the Quinnipiac poll found a majority of Americans (52%) say they are more concerned about humans using AI to cause harm, while 33% say they are more concerned about autonomous AI agents harming humanity.“The results show a clear theme about the fear of harm coming from AI and its users,” Brian O’Neill, associate dean of Quinnipiac University’s School of Computing and Engineering, said in a statement. “More people expect AI to do more harm than good in their day-to-day lives, and while there are significant concerns about future AI threatening humans, Americans are much more worried about AI being used by people to do harm to others.”Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads