Republicans and Democrats agree on one thing: AI is scary

Republicans and Democrats may not agree on much these days, but they seem to have some common ground: fears over AI.

A Pew Research survey found that almost equal portions of Democrats and Republicans surveyed (51% and 50%, respectively) say they’re more concerned than excited about AI’s growing presence in everyday life.

The finding marks a shift from Pew’s previous surveys in 2021 and 2023, when Republicans were about 15 points more likely than Democrats to be more concerned by the technology.

A rare consensus: Pew’s research echoes some other studies that have found that fears around AI and a desire to regulate it tend to be bipartisan issues. A recent survey from the University of Maryland’s Program for Public Consultation, a YouGov poll for UMass Amherst, and research from the AI Policy Institute have all shown similar agreement across party lines.

In past years of Pew’s survey, Democrats have been more likely to be either equally concerned and excited by AI or more excited overall. There was a marked rise in concerns among all groups between 2021 and 2023, when the late 2022 release of ChatGPT first made AI an inescapable topic in the news.

Who regulates: That alignment isn’t quite as pronounced when it comes to questions of regulation, however. Only 36% of Democrats trust the US government to effectively regulate AI, while 54% of Republicans do.

More than half (54%) of Democrats trust regulation from the European Union, which has already made strides in enacting policy guardrails through its AI Act. Only a third of Republicans share that sentiment. Very few Americans of either party (13% total) trust the Chinese government’s AI rulemaking.

Washington follows: While business-friendly Republican politicians are still more likely than Democrats to oppose AI regulation, Transformer recently reported on a growing schism over AI regulation within the GOP. The more populist wing has increasingly been at odds with the party’s Silicon Valley AI boosters.

Over the summer, 99 senators resoundingly voted down a moratorium that would have constricted states’ ability to regulate AI. As alarming stories of AI psychosis, suicides, and other harms have grown more numerous, the Federal Trade Commission has opened an inquiry into AI chatbot companions. Senate Republicans have also launched a probe into major AI companies over child safety concerns.

Concerns abound: It’s not just Republicans or Democrats in the US; another Pew survey last month found that people around the world tend to be more concerned than excited by the rise of AI in daily life (34%) or equally concerned and excited (42%).

Interestingly, Americans and the world at large also have fairly similar trust (or distrust) in the US’s ability to regulate AI, Pew found. Worldwide, only 37% said they trust US policy (versus 44% in the US) and 48% do not trust it (versus 47% in the US).