AI Regulation is Not a Priority for Americans, According to Axios and Morning Consult

Americans rank the importance of regulating AI below government shutdowns, health care, gun reform, immigration and the war between Israel and Hamas, according to a new Axios | Morning Consult poll. The public's lack of urgency on this issue suggests that Congress might punt regulatory decisions until after the 2024 election. Among 15 priorities tested in the survey, regulating the use of AI ranked 11th, with 27% of respondents calling it a top priority and 33% calling it "important, but a lower priority." 69% of U.S. adults are concerned about the development of AI, with concerns about "jobs" and "work" and "misinformation" and "privacy," topping answers to an open-ended question about what worried them. Regulating tech companies came in 14th, with 22% calling it a top priority and 35% saying it's "important, but a lower priority." Since the last Axios | Morning Consult Survey, the percentage of people who say "misinformation spread by artificial intelligence" will have an impact on the 2024 presidential election saw an uptick from 53% to 58%.