New biweekly survey finds Americans more likely to be concerned than excited about AI’s growing role

Americans’ concerns about artificial intelligence are running well ahead of excitement, according to results from a new biweekly survey that will track public sentiment toward AI over the next year. The findings, shared with The Hill by the nonprofit Athena Insights, come as policymakers debate how governments should respond to rapidly expanding AI tools in everyday life.

In the survey, participants were asked how they feel about AI’s “growing role” in society. Twenty-eight percent of respondents said they were “very concerned,” and 37 percent said they were “somewhat concerned,” for a combined 65 percent expressing concern. On the excitement side, 6 percent said they were “very excited” and 18 percent said they were “somewhat excited,” for a combined 24 percent expressing excitement.

The survey also reported that only 1 percent of respondents did not pick an option, while 9 percent said the available response choices were not close to how they felt. The poll’s results showed similar patterns across political parties, even as lawmakers and parties in Washington differ on approaches to AI governance and oversight, according to The Hill’s reporting.

Athena Insights said the survey is designed as an ongoing measurement rather than a one-time snapshot. The results are based on 1,814 participants, and the instrument is intended to be administered every other week for the next year to evaluate whether public views change as AI adoption expands and as policy debates evolve, the research lead Colin Hyatt Bortner told The Hill.

Bortner described the effort as attempting to keep the polling language neutral so that negative or positive impacts that may be showing up for Americans would be reflected in the data and inform a policy response. In addition to sentiment about AI’s social role, Athena Insights said it also asks questions about whether respondents think AI is likely to help in areas such as medical and scientific advances or improve healthcare.

The survey was conducted in a policy environment where federal regulators and lawmakers have been weighing questions such as algorithmic accountability, consumer and workplace protections, and whether AI use should be constrained by sector-specific rules. The new “Americans on AI” results add to the broader discussion by quantifying how Americans characterize AI’s expansion in terms of concern versus excitement.

While the poll offers a clear measure of sentiment, it does not by itself identify which specific AI applications are most associated with concern. The ongoing biweekly design is intended to address that limitation over time by tracking how Americans’ views shift as their exposure to AI tools and related policy actions change.