Exclusive: Americans overwhelmingly support AI safety mandates, new poll finds

The public would rather ban AI development than have no regulation at all

The American public strongly favors mandatory safety requirements for AI systems, according to a new poll conducted by the AI Policy Institute for Transformer.

When presented with different regulatory approaches, 73% of Americans supported requiring companies to implement safety measures and security standards for advanced AI models, along with mandating pre-deployment approval from a government board that certified companies have properly accounted for extreme risks.

Just 7% preferred a “no regulation” regime where all regulation would fall on users, instead of developers, while the remaining 20% were unsure.

Support for safety mandates and a pre-deployment approval regime was remarkably consistent across party lines, with 74% of Democrats and Republicans alike favoring them.

The poll also found that in the absence of safety guardrails, the public would rather halt AI development entirely than allow it to proceed unchecked. When given a choice between banning development of more powerful AI systems and having no regulation at all, 48% preferred a ban (47% for Democrats, 48% for Republicans). Only 18% chose no regulation.

The poll, conducted by AIPI from January 19-21 with a weighted sample of 1,228 respondents, also found broad support for other regulatory measures. A majority (56%) backed legislative authorization for the US AI Safety Institute, though with significant partisan variation — 63% of Democrats supported the move compared to 48% of Republicans, and high numbers of both said they were unsure. 68% supported mandatory cybersecurity standards for AI companies, with only 9% opposed. And 63% favored making it illegal to export powerful AI models to potential US adversaries like China.

The findings paint a picture of an American electorate that is deeply wary of uncontrolled AI development. Only 25% of respondents reported feeling excited about AI’s growth, while 50% expressed concern. The remaining quarter described themselves as neutral.

The disconnect between these polling numbers and the current policy discourse in Washington is striking. While the public strongly favors safety requirements, many figures in the new administration advocate an explicitly deregulatory approach. The poll suggests this argument may be out of step with public sentiment.

“The level of support for core policy asks is really strong on both sides of the aisle,” Daniel Colson, AIPI’s executive director, told Transformer. “Republican and Democratic leaders can decide to do something different than what their constituents want, but it’s very important that they know their constituents very much want this.”

You can see the full poll results and question wording here.