Most people in the West fear that artificial intelligence could destroy humanity — Politico

About half of the respondents in a survey commissioned by Politico supported slowing the development of artificial intelligence to mitigate potential risks. The survey covered six Western countries—the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Canada, the United States, and France.

More than half of the respondents, to varying degrees, consider the risks associated with the development of AI to be real, particularly the possibility of the destruction of humanity. On average, 12% of respondents across the six countries believe that humanity is almost certainly at risk of extinction, while another 25.8% rate this risk as moderate.

Overall, the proportion of those who believe artificial intelligence is already sufficiently advanced and support slowing its further development ranged from 45.1% to 50.8% across the six countries. At the same time, between 30.6% and 39.8% of respondents supported the creation of more advanced models that could bring significant benefits, while the rest were undecided.

The proportion of people who consider the risk of humanity’s destruction due to AI to be significant—ranging from moderate to nearly inevitable—ranged from 55% to 65%, depending on the country. At the same time, between 22% and 33% of respondents assess this risk as very low or do not see it at all.

According to Politico, respondents’ political views have almost no impact on their level of concern about the development of AI. Specifically, among those who voted for Donald Trump in 2024, 44% believe that the development of artificial intelligence should be slowed down, while 40% do not support this idea and believe the U.S. should not fall behind other countries, even if it means taking on additional risks.

This was reported by Politico.

UN Secretary-General Guterres called on the U.S. and China to engage in dialogue on AI — Asharq Al-Awsat.

Trump announced the creation of AI units and the appointment of an “AI czar” — YLE News