Poll finds majority of Americans believe AI could eventually wipe out humanity

A poll conducted in the United States has found that a majority of Americans believe artificial intelligence could one day wipe out all of humanity.

In the poll conducted by Politico, Americans were asked about their views amid recent debates over whether artificial intelligence could destroy humanity, CE Report quotes Anadolu Agency.

One-third of respondents said the risk of AI destroying humanity was “moderate,” while 17% described the risk as “almost certain” and 20% considered it “seriously high.”

The poll also examined how respondents assessed the risk based on their political views.

Among Americans who voted for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, 70% described the risk as “moderate,” compared with 60% among those who voted for Donald Trump.

48% support halting AI development

According to the poll, 48% of respondents said AI had “reached a sufficiently good level” and that its development should be suspended to reduce the risks. Meanwhile, 31% supported continuing development, arguing that advanced AI could provide significant benefits.

Among Harris voters, 58% supported suspending AI development, compared with 44% of Trump voters.

Around half of respondents said they sincerely believed warnings from executives of AI companies that the technology could ultimately destroy humanity.

By contrast, 26% said such statements were a marketing strategy aimed at making AI products appear more powerful or important.

The poll was conducted online by London-based Public First among 2,064 U.S. adults between September 13 and 15.

Debate continues over slowing AI development

As AI becomes increasingly widespread in the United States, calls to slow its development before the technology reaches dangerous levels have intensified in recent days.

Prominent figures in the technology sector, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, have called for a slowdown in AI development.

Meanwhile, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has favored an approach focused on encouraging innovation rather than introducing new regulations that would slow AI development.

Trump has claimed that there is a “sick conspiracy” surrounding fears that AI technology could spiral out of control. He has also argued that slowing AI development would give China an advantage.