A survey from 2023 shows a solid majority of people want to hit the brakes on high-end robotics and AI: roughly 60% back banning robot–human hybrids (and in some polls that number is closer to ~72%). Comparable majorities (around 58%) would outlaw AI-enhanced humans, and about 63% support a ban on any artificial general intelligence smarter than themselves. Over two-thirds would even insist on heavy government regulation to slow AI’s pace.
In short, the public mood is decidedly anti–sci-fi: they’ve told the machines to stand by, not step up. The nuances are telling. Support is strongest for the most tangible fears: “cyborgs” and human upgrades provoke near-consensus calls for prohibition. By contrast, only about half (around 53% in that chart’s breakdown) want to outlaw “sentient” AI, suggesting many people consider conscious robots more hypothetical. (Other polls still find a majority favoring an AI consciousness ban – roughly 69–70% – but this is notably lower than the backing for hybrid bans.) In short, humanity seems more spooked by the idea of becoming a robot (or mating with one) than by robots eventually feeling emotions. What does this mean for policy? For one thing, AI governors have a strong mandate: over 70% demand action on risky tech and 71% explicitly say “slow down!”
Have we changed since 2023?
Source: Effective Altruism Forum