Poll finds bipartisan support for tighter AI regulation

Technology Poll finds bipartisan support for tighter AI regulation Comments: by Tara Suter - 06/29/26 12:03 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Tara Suter - 06/29/26 12:03 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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There is bipartisan support for tighter regulation on AI, according to a new poll.

In the Artificial Intelligence Policy Institute (AIPI) poll, 68 percent of respondents said they would be in favor of the government making “a formal review process for the most advanced AI models before they can be widely released.”

Twenty percent of respondents in the same poll said that they were in favor of the government leaning “mostly on companies to test their own AI models,” intervening “mainly after problems occur.” Twelve percent were unsure about which choice they favored.

Sixty-four percent of Republicans and 76 percent of Democrats backed the formal review process, with 63 percent of independents also supporting the idea. The poll also found that 15 percent of Democrats, 24 percent of Republicans and 23 percent of independents were in favor of the government leaning mostly on companies.

In recent months, measures attempting to bar or rein in data center construction have gained steam at the state and local level, with Americans’ opinions going south on the massive build-out of AI infrastructure in their communities.

Two months ago, the Maine Legislature became the first in the nation to pass a bill stopping the development of large-scale data centers.

The backlash against data centers has been increasing within the last few years, with communities anxious about the impacts of the energy-guzzling infrastructure on their cost of living and the environment.

In March, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act, which would stop construction of AI infrastructure until lawmakers put in place measures that mandate government reviews of AI products, halt mass job displacement and restrict rises in consumer electricity prices.

The AIPI poll took place from June 10 to June 11, featuring 1,007 likely voters and a margin of error of 4.2 percentage points.

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