U.S. AI Polls Show Broad Public Demand for Human Control

New U.S. polling shows that anxiety over AI escaping human control has moved from a niche safety debate into mainstream public opinion, with large majorities backing safeguards for the most powerful systems. A June survey of 1,007 likely voters by the Artificial Intelligence Policy Institute found that 84% agreed Congress should address the risk of losing control of increasingly powerful AI systems, while 82% agreed companies should not build systems smarter than humans until they can demonstrate control, and 86% supported a guaranteed off switch for the most powerful AI systems.