AI environmental concerns build as lawmakers grapple with tech panic
· Axios
More than half of Americans are extremely or very concerned about the environmental impacts of AI, up more than ten percentage points from last year, per polling results out Wednesday.
The big picture: It's just one area where Americans' AI concerns are building across the spectrum — highlighting one of the few issues lawmakers are crossing the aisle to confront amid ballooning panic set off by rogue models, industry warnings and public backlash.
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- But it's unclear what, if any, role the AI backlash will play in the upcoming midterm elections, with voters split on who is better suited to handle the issue. Some Democratic lawmakers are reportedly hesitant to spend too much time discussing it on the campaign trail.
- President Trump has emerged as a top cheerleader for AI and the data centers needed to power the tech, with his administration moving to reshape environmental and permitting regulations for AI infrastructure.
Driving the news: But that comes as 53% of Americans are extremely or very concerned about the environmental impacts of AI, according to a poll of 3,424 from The AP-NORC Center and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) conducted July 6 to 24.
- Democrats are more likely than Republicans to be extremely or very concerned at 65%, but 42% of Republicans shared that sentiment — a larger share than those who are somewhat concerned (26%) or not concerned at all (31%).
- Democrats are also more likely to say AI will be hurtful to society as a whole, per the polling, but half of Republicans are similarly pessimistic.
- Anxiety about data centers' impact on electricity prices, power outages or water supply is also wide-ranging, with roughly eight in 10 adults reporting being at least somewhat concerned about each.
Zoom out: Separate polling out today found that a significant slice of Americans also share a far more existential concern: that AI could one day destroy humanity.
- More than six in 10 Americans say there's at least a moderate risk that happens, per The POLITICO Poll. Majorities across the aisle hold that view.
- A plurality also say AI developers should hit pause.
Friction point: Three Anthropic researchers set off a firestorm of concern last week when they went public with warnings that AI could destroy humans this decade.
- Despite leaders' calls for a slowdown in the race, Trump remains in a full-steam-ahead headspace, arguing the "only control or 'guardrails' that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT."
- Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, a flurry of initiatives are grappling with the AI boom, from a bipartisan caucus on AI small businesses to legislation establishing a federal program to monitor systems.
- More than 100 House Democrats signed onto a letter urging House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to cancel the upcoming recess to vote on AI safeguards — but he signaled today that's not happening.
What they're saying: Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn co-founder and a major Democratic donor, contended in a Wednesday essay that neither the extreme accelerationist and decelerationist camps have the ideal approach. But the next three years, he says, will set the course for AI's societal impact.
- He wrote, "the next 36 months will be determinative; we need an engaged public and leaders who understand and can deliver on the dual American mandate of economic prosperity and global AI leadership. That is the task in front of us now."
Go deeper: An aging Congress attempts to regulate AI without using it