Washington Letter: Voters concerned about AI advancement, data center construction, polls show

Recent polls show that U.S. voters are concerned about the advancement of artificial intelligence and the construction of data centers, according to a report from OSV News. While economic issues remain the primary concern for voters ahead of the midterm elections, a plurality of adults in a Politico poll expressed a desire to pause AI development regardless of political affiliation. That same poll found a majority of respondents believe the technology poses a real risk of destroying humanity, with similar sentiments reported in Canada and Europe.

A New York Times/Siena poll indicated that 61% of voters oppose building data centers to support AI, while only 34% support such construction. Despite these concerns, fewer than 1% of voters identified AI or data centers as the most important issue for their upcoming vote.