Artificial Intelligence’s Dislike Factor: How Strong Is It?

 

As if AI’s technical problems and ability to attract fears of human doom aren’t bad enough, it has attracted increasing adverse reactions for over five months now.  What do they mean and what do they say about AI’s prospects?

The first piece here, “One Issue Uniting Democrats and Republicans?  Worries About A.I” by Tim Balk on May 3^rd in the New York Times, mentioned “public concerns” rising “about the threat that A.I. poses to jobs, energy prices, education, privacy and mental health.”  A recent survey “found that 50 percent of Republicans and 51 percent of Democrats said that they were more concerned than excited about the increased use of A.I. in daily life,” with another 40 percent calling it even.  Neither party offered much, as “a fifth of voters said Republicans were better at handling A.I., a fifth said Democrats were, and a third said that neither party was good at it.”  Wonderfully bipartisan all around - then.

Next, we had “A.I. Populism Is Here.  And No One Is Ready” (David Wallace-Wells, The New York Times, May 8^th).  Per the author, that’s not only about data centers, but, because “the vision peddled by A.I. companies is remarkably depersonalized,” citizens also care about “job loss and economic turmoil,” and that “it is unsettling to many and outrageous to some that so few people seem to stand in such absolute control of it.”  Attitudes have shifted: “Northern Virginia is ground zero for the breakneck build-out of data centers, and between 2023 and 2025, voters there swung 69 points against building them in their own communities - from 45 points in favor to 24 points against,” in the face of Loudon County’s centers being “expected to generate nearly half of all local tax revenue” next year.

So, is it true that “The Generation That Grew Up With A.I. Hates It” (Michelle Goldberg, The New York Times, May 18^th)?  Well, during a pro-A.I. commencement speech at the University of Arizona, the “stadium-sized audience roared its disapproval,” and “at the University of Central Florida a week earlier, when” a speaker “described A.I. as “the next Industrial Revolution,” listeners booed, and someone shouted “A.I. sucks!””  The technology was “increasingly a pop culture villain,” and “only 18 percent of Gen Z-ers feel hopeful” about it.  Showing a reason, another study showed “that out of people in 30 countries, Americans had the least faith in their leaders’ ability to regulate A.I.”  A similar article, “The Kids Are Not OK With AI.  And They Know It” (Kay Rubacek, The Epoch Times, July 8^th), named a similar incident at Middle Tennessee State University and noted that “even among those who use it every day, enthusiasm dropped by 18 points over 12 months,” “eight in 10 now believe that AI will make learning harder,” “forty-two percent believe that it will hurt their ability to think carefully,” and “only one-quarter of respondents believe that it will help.”

Per the Wall Street Journal in “The American Rebellion Against AI Is Gaining Steam” on May 19^th, as shown by “one poll after another in recent weeks,” “the only thing growing faster than the artificial-intelligence industry may be Americans’ negative feelings about it.”  One found that the share of “U.S. voters” feeling positive about AI was lower than for “Donald Trump,” the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, or ICE.  Damning.

“How Popular Is A.I. With Voters?  Not Very, a New Poll Finds” (Tim Balk and Caroline Soler, The New York Times, September 15^th).  Although, in response to President Trump’s statements supported by much of his base, many Republicans have become more pro-AI, “less than two months before the midterm elections, neither party has claimed a clear advantage on A.I,” as “forty-two percent of voters said they trusted Republicans more, while 40 percent” said the same for Democrats.  At the time, “sixty-one percent of voters said they opposed the construction of the enormous computing complexes that power A.I., including 75 percent of Democrats and 47 percent of Republicans.”  Negative views were most common among “younger voters…with nearly 80 percent of those under 30 in opposition,” compared with 53% of those over 65.  However, “A.I. remains a relatively low priority for voters, according to the poll.”  According to Nate Cohn in “The Subtle Sign That A.I. Is Not Yet a National Political Issue” (The New York Times, September 16^th), those results show “that the issue is not quite ripe for national party politics,” as “voters, politicians and the parties are still figuring out what they think and where they stand,” and “over just the last 10 days or so since the Times/Siena poll was finalized, concerns over A.I. security have erupted into a major policy issue” [see my September 25^th post] “with the potential to become a political football.”

Finally and more comprehensively, “Fox News Poll:  Voters question whether AI’s promise outweighs its risks” (Victoria Balara, Fox News, September 22^nd).  Here, for which data was collected September 11-14, 71% were against “building data centers in their area including 46% who strongly oppose them,” yet 52% “favors building them in remote locations.”  That’s not unreasonable, since at least 71% of Americans live in areas without much unused or underused land.  In contrast to previous results, this survey showed that “voters think Democrats would better handle building AI data centers by a 14-point margin, with “that lead… especially strong among” Blacks (51 points), those under 30 (35), Hispanics (29) and independents (26 points).  AI in general “is viewed more negatively than positively” by 60% to 37%, and “majorities of voters are more likely to see AI as bad rather than good for the U.S. economy (54% bad vs 36% good), mental health (54-34%), society (56-34%), the environment (60-30%), and jobs (63-29%).”  Democrats, Whites without college degrees, women, and independents were the “most negative.”  Additionally, “three-quarters of voters (76%) favor banning AI in kindergarten through eighth grade classrooms.”

So what do we have here?  The dislike factor is strong, with no reason coming up, except potentially if a federal regulatory agency is created and sets rules, for it to abate.  Despite comments in a few of these pieces, AI will indeed be a political issue, and one that may, as it now stands, cost Republican candidates dearly if they support the technology and building of its data centers.  People running next month will need to pay attention to what their current and potential constituents are saying and feeling, here as well as elsewhere.  AI will make it through, but will be limited much more than now.  That is where artificial intelligence, now, is going.