The Age Of Artificial Intelligence: 73% Concerned About Potential Threat To Human Survival, Quinnipiac University Poll On AI Finds; 86% Support Independent Safety Standards For AI Companies
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Following recent warnings about rogue AI agents, sparking debate over safety versus economic advantage as the U.S. and China race to develop AI systems, 73 percent of Americans are either very concerned (38 percent) or somewhat concerned (35 percent) that future AI systems could potentially threaten human survival, while 25 percent are either not so concerned (14 percent) or not concerned at all (11 percent). This is according to a Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pea-ack) University national poll of adults released today examining attitudes about artificial intelligence. The survey was conducted in collaboration with the Quinnipiac University School of Computing & Engineering and the Quinnipiac University School of Business.
IMPACT
Fifty-three percent of Americans think AI will do more harm than good in their day-to-day lives, while 34 percent think AI will do more good than harm in their day-to-day lives, with 13 percent not offering an opinion. This is little changed from Quinnipiac University's Poll on AI from March 30, 2026.
AI AGENTS VS. HUMANS
When asked which concerns them more, over half of Americans (52 percent) say they are more concerned about AI being used by humans to do harm to humanity, while 33 percent say they are more concerned about autonomous AI agents doing harm to humanity and 2 percent volunteer no harm to humanity, with 12 percent not offering an opinion.
"The results show a clear theme about the fear of harm coming from AI and its users. 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," said Brian O'Neill, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Computer Science and Associate Dean, Quinnipiac University School of Computing and Engineering.
LEADERS OF AI COMPANIES
A vast majority of Americans say they do not have trust in the leaders of AI companies.
Seventy-four percent say they have either not so much trust (29 percent) or none at all (45 percent) in the leaders of AI companies, while 24 percent say they have either a lot of (3 percent) or some (21 percent) trust in the leaders of AI companies.
"Americans are not convinced AI's advances are in their interests. More than half expect AI to do more harm than good in their daily lives, and nearly three-quarters express little or no trust in the leaders of AI companies. The industry needs to give people a reason to welcome AI," said Tamilla Triantoro, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Business Analytics and Information Systems, Quinnipiac University School of Business.
GUARDRAILS
Ninety-one percent of Americans think it is either very important (74 percent) or somewhat important (17 percent) that the United States establish guardrails for AI systems, while 7 percent think it is either not so important (3 percent) or not important at all (4 percent).
A vast majority of Americans (86 percent) support requiring companies that are developing AI systems to meet independent safety standards, even if it slows down AI development, while 9 percent oppose it.
PACE OF DEVELOPMENT
Americans were given four options about the pace of AI development and asked which one comes closest to their line of thinking about what AI companies in the U.S. should do:
- 30 percent think stop developing powerful AI systems until their safety can be evaluated;
- 47 percent think slow down developing powerful AI systems until their safety can be evaluated;
- 14 percent think keep developing powerful AI systems at the current pace;
- 5 percent think move faster in developing powerful AI systems.
"AI companies face a trust problem, not just questions about their technology. Seventy-four percent of Americans have little or no trust in their leaders, while 86 percent support independent safety standards even if development slows. Meanwhile, nearly 8 in 10 Americans want powerful AI development slowed or stopped until safety can be evaluated, and just 5 percent want it accelerated. Taken together, these results suggest that the public wants safeguards that do not depend simply on taking company leaders at their word," said Chetan Jaiswal, Ph.D., Professor of Computer Science and Associate Chair, Department of Computing, Quinnipiac University School of Computing and Engineering.
U.S. VS. CHINA
More than two-thirds of Americans (69 percent) think it is either very important (40 percent) or somewhat important (29 percent) that the United States keep up with China in developing AI systems, while 27 percent think it is either not so important (14 percent) or not important at all (13 percent).
"The public is not neatly divided into a competition camp and a safety camp. 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," added Jaiswal.
SAFETY VS. INNOVATION
Eighty-one percent of Americans think safety is more important than staying at the forefront of innovation when it comes to AI, while 14 percent think staying at the forefront of innovation is more important than safety.
DATA CENTERS
Seventy-two percent of Americans say they would oppose the building of an AI data center in their community, while 21 percent say they would support it, with 7 percent not offering an opinion.
In Quinnipiac University's Poll on AI in March, 65 percent said they would oppose the building of an AI data center in their community, 24 percent said they would support it, and 11 percent did not offer an opinion.
"AI faces a public acceptance test when it acquires a physical address. Only 21 percent would support an AI data center in their own community, while 72 percent would oppose one. Securing local support for the physical infrastructure behind AI may become one of the industry's most immediate challenges," added Triantoro.
"We generally do not want data centers in our communities. However, we all want to benefit from what data centers provide - not just access to AI systems but also to other cloud computing services that they afford. With the current rhetoric around data centers, it seems most people associate them with AI and not with the rest of the things in our lives that they support," added O'Neill.
1,202 U.S. adults nationwide were surveyed from September 24th - 27th with a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points, including the design effect.
The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Doug Schwartz, Ph.D. since 1994, conducts independent, non-partisan national and state polls on politics and issues. Surveys adhere to industry best practices and are based on probability-based samples using random digit dialing with live interviewers calling landlines and cell phones.
Visit poll.qu.edu or www.facebook.com/quinnipiacpoll
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Poll Questions
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Question 19. How excited are you about AI; very excited, somewhat excited, not so excited, or not excited at all?
ADULTS....................................... AGE IN YRS.............. Tot Men Wom 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Very excited 11% 14% 8% 10% 17% 9% 9% Somewhat excited 31 35 28 33 27 33 35 Not so excited 20 20 21 18 23 22 20 Not excited at all 35 29 40 37 32 31 32 DK/NA 3 2 3 2 2 4 4 -
Question 20. How concerned are you about AI; very concerned, somewhat concerned, not so concerned, or not concerned at all?
ADULTS....................................... AGE IN YRS.............. Tot Men Wom 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Very concerned 43% 34% 51% 42% 41% 42% 43% Somewhat concerned 39 43 35 42 35 41 41 Not so concerned 9 8 9 8 12 6 8 Not concerned at all 9 14 4 9 11 10 6 DK/NA 1 1 1 - 1 - 2 -
Question 21. When it comes to your day-to-day life, do you think AI will do more good than harm or do more harm than good?
ADULTS....................................... AGE IN YRS.............. Tot Men Wom 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Do more good 34% 45% 24% 34% 35% 32% 39% Do more harm 53 42 63 61 54 51 42 DK/NA 13 14 13 5 12 17 19 -
Question 22. Would you support or oppose the building of an AI data center in your community?
ADULTS....................................... AGE IN YRS.............. Tot Men Wom 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Support 21% 26% 15% 14% 21% 23% 27% Oppose 72 67 78 79 73 72 63 DK/NA 7 7 7 6 6 5 10 -
Question 23. How much trust would you say you have in the leaders of AI companies; a lot, some, not so much, or none at all?
ADULTS....................................... AGE IN YRS.............. Tot Men Wom 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ A lot 3% 3% 2% 2% 2% 4% 4% Some 21 23 19 16 17 22 29 Not so much 29 26 31 26 26 33 33 None at all 45 45 44 55 52 39 29 DK/NA 3 3 3 2 2 2 4 -
Question 24. In thinking about companies that are developing AI systems, do you support or oppose requiring them to meet independent safety standards, even if it slows down AI development?
ADULTS....................................... AGE IN YRS.............. Tot Men Wom 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Support 86% 84% 87% 84% 85% 90% 85% Oppose 9 10 8 13 9 6 8 DK/NA 6 6 5 3 6 4 7 -
Question 25. Which comes closest to your line of thinking, AI companies in the U.S.: should stop developing powerful AI systems until their safety can be evaluated, should slow down developing powerful AI systems until their safety can be evaluated, should keep developing powerful AI systems at the current pace, or should move faster in developing powerful AI systems?
ADULTS....................................... AGE IN YRS.............. Tot Men Wom 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Stop 30% 24% 36% 42% 33% 20% 20% Slow down 47 46 47 43 47 52 48 Current pace 14 17 11 9 13 19 19 Move faster 5 8 2 4 4 6 6 DK/NA 4 4 4 2 4 3 6 -
Question 26. How important do you think it is that the United States keep up with China in developing AI systems; very important, somewhat important, not so important, or not important at all?
ADULTS....................................... AGE IN YRS.............. Tot Men Wom 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Very important 40% 51% 30% 24% 39% 45% 56% Somewhat important 29 25 33 33 22 30 29 Not so important 14 12 16 21 19 12 7 Not important at all 13 10 15 17 18 8 6 DK/NA 4 3 5 5 1 5 3 -
Question 27. How important do you think it is that the United States establish guardrails for AI systems; very important, somewhat important, not so important, or not important at all?
ADULTS....................................... AGE IN YRS.............. Tot Men Wom 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Very important 74% 67% 81% 73% 77% 72% 76% Somewhat important 17 23 12 19 13 20 17 Not so important 3 4 2 4 3 3 3 Not important at all 4 4 3 3 6 4 2 DK/NA 2 2 2 1 1 1 2 -
Question 28. Which of the following do you think is more important when it comes to AI: safety or staying at the forefront of innovation?
ADULTS....................................... AGE IN YRS.............. Tot Men Wom 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Safety 81% 71% 90% 85% 83% 80% 74% Innovation 14 22 7 12 12 16 18 DK/NA 5 7 3 3 4 4 7 -
Question 29. How concerned are you that future AI systems could potentially threaten human survival; very concerned, somewhat concerned, not so concerned, or not concerned at all?
ADULTS....................................... AGE IN YRS.............. Tot Men Wom 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Very concerned 38% 27% 49% 37% 40% 37% 40% Somewhat concerned 35 37 32 34 36 37 33 Not so concerned 14 17 12 17 14 13 14 Not concerned at all 11 17 6 12 8 13 12 DK/NA 1 1 2 - 2 1 1 -
Question 30. Which concerns you more: autonomous AI agents doing harm to humanity or AI being used by humans to do harm to humanity?
ADULTS....................................... AGE IN YRS.............. Tot Men Wom 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Autonomous AI 33% 31% 35% 27% 28% 41% 36% Humans 52 56 49 66 55 48 42 NO HARM(VOL) 2 3 1 1 3 2 4 DK/NA 12 10 14 6 14 9 18