Staggering Number Of Americans Fear AI Will Permanently Displace Workers

The six-day poll, which concluded on Monday, showed 71% of respondents said they were concerned that AI will be “putting too many people out of work permanently.”

While at present there are few signs of mass unemployment – the U.S. jobless rate was just 4.2% in July – artificial intelligence is stirring concerns as it reshapes jobs, industries and day-to-day life.

Some 77% of respondents to the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they worried the technology could be used to stir up political chaos, a sign of unease over the now-common use of AI technology to create realistic videos of imaginary events.

Americans are also leery about military applications for AI, the Reuters/Ipsos poll showed. Some 48% of respondents said the government should never use AI to determine the target of a military strike, compared with 24% who said the government should allow that sort of use of the technology. Another 28% said they were not sure.

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More than half of Americans – some 61% – said they were concerned about the amount of electricity needed to power the fast-growing technology.

Google said earlier this month it had signed agreements with two U.S. electric utilities to reduce its AI data center power consumption during times of surging demand on the grid, as energy-intensive AI use outpaces power supplies.

[snip]Two-thirds of respondents in the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they worried that people would ditch relationships with other people in favor of AI companions.

People were split on whether AI technology will improve education. Some 36% of respondents thought it would help, while 40% disagreed and the rest were not sure.