Voters give edge to GOP over Dems on AI
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo: Ludovic Marin / AFP via Getty Images
Republicans hold a small edge over Democrats on which party voters trust more to handle artificial intelligence, according to a New York Times/Siena poll.
Why it matters: Fears over AI have burst into the open in recent days over warnings about the technology's potentially disastrous capabilities.
- If the issue takes on increased importance for voters as midterms near, Republicans could find a small window to make inroads as they fight unpopularity on a host of other issues.
By the numbers: Republicans lead in AI trust by a margin of 42% to 40% — within the poll's margin of error.
- The GOP leads on the issue by 15 percentage points among those aged 45-64, but trails by 32 points among the youngest voters ages 18-29.
- The party polls better on the topic with men (+14) than women (-6).
Zoom out: AI is the only area where Republicans hold an advantage in the poll, which was released Tuesday morning.
- Democrats lead on all other issues polled, including ones that have been favorable for Republicans in recent years: the economy (Dems +7), cost of living (+8), immigration (+7) and the deficit (+10).
The big picture: Political postures on AI are frequently shifting, making it difficult for voters to pin down exactly what each party plans to do.
- President Trump has leaned into an all-gas, no-brakes approach to scaling up the technology. He raged online this week against the so-called doomers. Views from other Republicans have been more nuanced.
- Democrats are all over the map on what to do. They are talking up the urgency of the issue, but lack a unified vision forward.
- Both parties are grappling with the immense unpopularity of data centers in the midterms.
