Voters preferred banning advanced AI over leaving it unregulated.
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Asked to choose, voters picked mandatory safety and security standards over no regulation, 78% to 8%. Offered an outright ban instead, they still picked standards, 66% to 21%. @_perloj has the exclusive: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/voters-both-parties-want-tighter-ai-regulation-poll-finds-rcna351815
86% agree the most powerful AI systems should have a guaranteed “off switch.” Broken down by party, agreement remains strong: Democrats 88%, Independents 86%, Republicans 83%.
Does the answer depend on how you ask? Across eight framings, support for federal oversight ran from 59% to 78%, and the oversight option won each time by at least five to two.
57% of voters decline a data center in their community without AI safety rules attached. When the data center includes safety guardrails, opposition fell to 38% and the regulated option won.
We also tested the popularity of preemption of state AI laws. Just 16% of voters would bar states from regulating AI. 70% would have states keep some authority.
Among Republicans, every measure we tested drew majority support, from 66% for a formal safety review to 77% for standards over no regulation.
We surveyed 1,007 U.S. likely voters, June 10-11, 2026, with a margin of error ±4.2 points.
Full report, toplines, and crosstabs: https://theaipi.org/poll-ai-safety-majority/