A large and rising share of Americans think artificial intelligence poses serious risks of causing harm, though many Americans also expect AI to have positive benefits, according to the latest YouGov / Economist Poll.
Overall, 42% of U.S. adult citizens say the risks of AI causing harm are very serious, while 31% say they're somewhat serious, 20% slightly serious, and only 7% not at all serious.
Democrats are especially likely to worry about AI: 53% of them say AI risks are very serious, compared to 45% of Independents and 29% of Republicans. Republicans who are MAGA supporters are comparatively sanguine about AI's risks, with only 23% of them calling the risks very serious. 44% of non-MAGA Republicans say AI risks are very serious, similar to the share of Independents who say this.
Concern about AI has risen over the past month. The August 28 - 31, 2026 Economist / YouGov Poll found that 35% of Americans thought the risks of AI risk causing harm were very serious. That's now risen to 42%. Much of this increase is driven by Democrats, the share of whom say AI risk is very serious has risen to 53% from 39%. Independents saying this have risen to 45% from 38%, while Republican concern has barely changed (29% now, 27% then).
But even as many Americans are concerned about the risks of AI, 47% also say AI will have many positive benefits, compared to 31% who say it won't.
Among those Americans who say AI risk is very serious, 29% say AI will have many positive benefits and 53% say it won't. Other Americans are far more likely than not to say AI will have positive benefits, including those who say AI risk is somewhat serious (51% vs. 21%), slightly serious (69% vs. 7%), and not at all serious (78% vs. 3%).
The Economist and YouGov asked respondents to describe the risks and benefits of AI in their own words, and classified the responses with an AI tool. The most commonly cited area of worry is the loss of human control, followed by job loss and harm to humans.
The most commonly mentioned expected benefits of AI are medical and health care advances, increased productivity, and scientific and technological advances.
Americans are more likely to trust Democrats more than Republicans to handle AI than to trust Republicans more (37% vs. 31%, with 33% trusting both parties equally). Likely voters — U.S. adult citizens who are either registered to vote or say they will be registered by the November elections, and who say they definitely will vote in November or already have voted — are especially likely to prefer Democrats on AI. 47% of likely voters prefer Democrats and 33% prefer Republicans, while all other American citizens are closely split (25% vs. 28%).
MAGA Republicans overwhelmingly trust Republicans more to handle AI (87%), but only 52% of non-MAGA Republicans do; 42% say they trust both parties equally on the issue.
Image: Getty (Dan Kitwood / Staff)
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