Is AI a threat to humanity? 61 % of Americans surveyed believe it.

The unprecedented rise of OpenAI’s ChatGPT has unleashed an AI arms race between tech companies and a vivid public discussion about the effects of AI on humanity. Reuters/Ipsos conducted an online poll of 4,415 US adults between 9 May and 15 May to measure the level of concern about the effects of AI on the future of humanity. The poll revealed that 61% of respondents of the survey believe that AI poses a risk to humanity. 22% disagreed, and 17% remained unsure about the negative effects of AI. Among the 61% AI critics are 70% of Trump voters compared to 60% of Joe Biden voters as well as 32 % of Evangelical Christians and 24% of non-Evangelical Christians.

Landon Klein, from the Future of Life Institute, compares the current situation with the beginning of the nuclear era. Highlighting the importance of public perception to the need to act. The Future of Life Institute is the organization behind an open letter, co-signed by Tesla (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk, demanding a six-month pause in AI research. Even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed his concerns on the potential misuse of AI and asked for regulation during his testimony before US Congress on 16 May. ‘There’s no way to put this genie in the bottle. Globally, this is exploding,’ said Senator Cory during a Senate panel on the uses of AI on Tuesday.

While the concerns are legitimate, experts are warning from missing out on the beneficial side of AI on humanity. ‘AI will raise peoples’ quality of life, and help people be more competent and more efficient’, stressed Sebastian Thrun, a Stanford computer science professor and founder of Google X. Benefits of AI, such as revolutionizing drug discovery, are not as visible as ChatGPT. Leading to an underestimation of the existing impact of AI on daily lives, according to UC Berkeley professor and co-founder of the AI company Anyscale, Ion Stoica.