Americans from Both Parties Express Concerns Over AI’s Impact on the 2024 Presidential Campaign

Given the increasing concerns over AI, the way it is being used, and how it might influence the 2024 presidential elections, a new Pew Research Center survey indicates that most Americans are concerned by the potential ways this issue may be manipulated in the real election process.

Moreover, these concerns cut across party lines between Republicans and Democrats.

Fears About AI’s Involvement

The survey has indicated that 39% of Americans believe AI will be primarily used for bad purposes in the campaign and only 5% for good. Additionally, 27% share that the balance will be even between good and bad uses. This is driven home by a remarkable 57% of U.S. adults who are extremely or very concerned about AI developing and spreading false or misleading information about candidates and campaigns.

Trust in Technology Companies

As concerns about AI have increased, so has distrust in whether big tech companies are capable of handling their platforms responsibly. 77% of Americans think that social media companies such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, and Google have a responsibility to keep their platforms free of misinformation around elections.

Yet American public confidence in these firms is alarmingly low; just 20% have at least some confidence that these companies will do enough to prevent the misuse of their platforms. That’s down from 33% in 2018.

Partisan Views

Public attitudes toward responsibility by tech companies are basically unchanged along party lines: a majority of Democrats (84%) say that tech companies have a responsibility to society, while an outright majority of Republicans (72%) disagree.

But while opinions held by Democrats have changed little since 2020, the share of Republicans who believe that tech companies do have a responsibility has grown from **64%** four years ago.

Eroding Confidence Over Time

The survey data point to a depressing trend: public confidence in tech companies has plummeted over the last six years. Percentages of Americans with low confidence that those companies would be able to stem electoral misuse have risen from 72% in 2018 to 80% among Republicans today. Among Democrats, this lack of confidence has risen from 62% to 79% during the same period.

Divisions in AI Opinion by Generation

While the two groups agree strongly on the attitudes AI is likely to have about each issue, partisan views do vary more sharply along generational lines. About 41% of Republicans and 39% of Democrats believe AI will be largely bad for the candidate in the election.

But perhaps most surprisingly, younger adults see things in a more nuanced light, with 35% of those under 30 believing AI will be used equitably for both good and ill compared to only 20% of those aged 65 and over.

But older adults live with heightened fear about AI’s impact on society, with 68% expressing extreme worry, a figure starkly at odds with only 48% of younger adults having such concern.

Conclusion

The lessons of this survey are that Americans are broadly uncomfortable with the consequences of AI in politics, and it is coming at a time when it is also gaining traction just ahead of the presidential election of 2024.

There is bipartisan consensus on the idea that tech companies should do this job responsibly, and there is clear lack of trust that they can. But as election day approaches, these concerns regarding AI and the presence of misinformation are soon to dramatically alter the political landscape-in voter behavior and perhaps even in campaign strategy.

It will be time for them to be listened to and addressed by solid evidence of well-established safeguards against the misuse of AI.