Fifty-eight percent of registered voters oppose companies building superintelligent artificial intelligence, and 61% believe humans would have little or no control over it if built, according to the inaugural Power Shift Omnibus, a national survey conducted by Bryson Gillette Insights.
Less than three weeks before the midterm elections, the survey also finds substantial local resistance to AI data centers and a wide gap between the influence tech and AI companies hold in Washington and the trust voters place in them. Fifty-eight percent are opposed to AI data centers, and voters are particularly concerned about the impact they will have on local power grids and water usage. Americans are also hesitant to place their trust in corporations despite the influence they have, including tech and AI companies - there is a 28-point gap between the amount of trust voters place in tech and AI companies and the influence they have.
Voters are worried about AI’s effect on their jobs, but they are far more concerned about the larger risks it poses. A majority (58%) are concerned about AI taking their job. Even larger majorities worry about humans losing control over powerful AI (83%), bad actors using AI to develop weapons of mass destruction (81%), and AI threatening human existence (73%). The intensity gap is just as clear: 52% are very concerned about losing control of AI and about AI-enabled weapons and 45% about human existence, compared with 36% about their own jobs.
Power Shift Omnibus is a recurring national survey designed to track public attitudes on issues shaping business, technology, politics and society. The survey of 1,000 registered voters, fielded Sept. 21 to 25, 2026, examines public attitudes toward artificial intelligence, corporate influence, institutional trust, information habits, and the 2026 midterm elections. The margin of error is ± 3.1 percentage points.
Among the key findings:
- Voters are wary of superintelligent AI. Fifty-eight percent oppose companies building it, defined in the survey as “AI smarter than humans at nearly everything, including scientific research, strategy, and persuasion.” Sixty-one percent believe humans would be able to maintain little or no control over superintelligent AI if built.
- Local opposition to AI data centers is substantial. Fifty-eight percent oppose building a new AI data center in their community, and strain on the electrical grid and rising electricity bills (86% concerned) and water use for cooling the servers (82%) are top concerns.
- Broader AI risks outweigh job concerns. Fifty-eight percent are concerned about AI taking their job, but concern is higher when it comes to AI threatening their children (68%), threatening human existence (73%), bad actors using AI to develop weapons of mass destruction (81%), and humans losing control over powerful AI (83%). When it comes to their own jobs, a plurality (36%) expect AI to have no impact, though more expect AI to hurt them (30%) than help them (21%) at work.
- Corporate influence outpaces public trust. Seventy-two percent say large corporations have real influence in Washington, but just 34% say they trust them. For technology and AI companies, 66% say they have real influence, while 38% say they trust them.
- Voters expect Democratic gains. Forty-six percent expect the midterms to shift power toward Democrats, 24% toward Republicans, and 18% expect no change in the balance of power.