The Power Shift Omnibus survey is a national survey of 1,000 registered voters conducted every other month by Bryson Gillette Insights. This survey was fielded Sept. 21 to 25, with a margin of error of ± 3.1 points. The October findings unveiled public opinion on superintelligence, data center construction, and job security under AI.
Superintelligence & AI’s Impact on Job Security
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.
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.
Data Centers
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.
We also tested whether facts change minds. After respondents read statements on data centers’ impact on water use, noise, and wildlife, support rose from 33% to 43% and strong opposition fell from 38% to 28%. A single round of factual information moved opinion by ten points in both directions, a sign that opinion over data centers is still being shaped.
As AI continues to advance and data centers expand across the country, these concerns are increasingly relevant to both companies and candidates. Power Shift will track movement on these measures in future surveys, starting with the post-midterm survey in November. Our next survey fields after the election and re-asks these questions.