Public Sentiment on Advanced AI and Robotics Reflects Deep Caution

A comprehensive 2023 survey reveals that the majority of people favour applying the brakes to cutting-edge robotics and artificial intelligence development. Approximately 60% of respondents support prohibiting human-robot hybrids (with some polls indicating this figure could be as high as 72%). Similar majorities (around 58%) would support legislation against AI-enhanced humans, while about 63% advocate banning any artificial general intelligence that exceeds human capability. Perhaps most tellingly, over two-thirds of participants would insist on stringent government regulations to decelerate AI advancement.

The public stance is decidedly cautious rather than embracing a science fiction future—they’ve effectively told the machines to wait, not to advance. The nuances in these results are particularly revealing. Support for prohibition is strongest regarding the most tangible concerns: “cyborgs” and human technological enhancements trigger near-unanimous calls for restriction. By contrast, only about 53% (according to the chart breakdown) would support outlawing “sentient” AI, suggesting many consider conscious machines a more hypothetical scenario. (Other surveys still indicate majority support for banning AI consciousness—approximately 69-70%—but this remains notably lower than support for hybrid prohibitions.)

In essence, humanity appears more disturbed by the prospect of becoming robotic (or intimate relationships with robots) than by the possibility of robots eventually developing emotions. What are the policy implications? For one, AI governance has strong public backing: over 70% demand intervention regarding risky technologies, and 71% explicitly advocate for slowing down the pace of development.

Has public sentiment shifted since 2023? That remains the crucial question.

Source: Effective Altruism Forum