By The Daily Caller (U.S.) | Created at 2026-10-07 19:16:43 | Updated at 2026-10-07 21:56:29
3 hours ago
A majority of voters would like artificial intelligence development to be managed, monitored, and slowed — coming just after President Donald Trump met with CEOs of the technology industry to discuss regulations, according to a poll first obtained by the Daily Caller.
Plymouth Union Public Research conducted a poll from Sept. 25-28 of 1,000 likely general voters about their views on AI. The poll has a 3.1 percent margin of error. Of those polled, about 62 percent “definitely” or “probably” think AI presents the risk of destroying humanity. A higher number, 70 percent, believe AI’s growth should be monitored in some way.
“A.I. is no longer foreign to most Americans. Over 60 percent of our recent nationwide sample says that they knowingly use A.I. in their daily lives, with the figure being heavily indexed to people under the age of 45,” Plymouth Union Public Research wrote in its memo to interested parties on the polling.
“However, we find that Americans are split on whether A.I.’s development is promising or concerning: 43 percent of our sample stated that they are excited about the evolution and development of artificial intelligence compared to 39 percent who said that they were not,” the memo continues.
About 72 percent of those polled either “strongly” or “somewhat” support slowing the development of AI. The majority, 79 percent, also agree that tech companies and government should come together to manage that growth.
After meeting with various AI and tech executives in October, Trump signed what he called a “morally binding” agreement with them to enshrine a light-touch regulatory approach to AI. The agreement expects AI companies to implement internal controls to prevent risks. They are also expected to partner with an independent, external auditor to assess how they are regulating AI and if it is working.
The president also announced the Super Intelligence Force (SIF) after the meeting, led by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew Ferguson, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Emil Michael, and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Scott Kupor will also help with the task force. (RELATED: China Just Made Great Leap Forward In AI Race With US)
The task force will now be expected to give the White House a report on the technology’s risks and benefits and to define the government’s role within 120 days.
“These results are instructive for how voters are viewing the voluntary safety pact major tech CEOs signed this week following discussions with the President at the White House. President Trump’s use of the bully pulpit to get the A.I. leaders to agree to commonsense safeguards is the exact action the voters are calling for,” the polling memo states.
“However, their lack of trust in the nation’s tech industry means the public will likely push to have this kind of agreement codified in the future. President Trump’s openness to doing just that shows he is in line with the public on this key issue,” it concludes.
