A new poll out Wednesday shows that nearly two out of three Americans believe there is “certain” to “moderate” risk that artificial intelligence could wipe out human society, a finding that backs up other surveys showing deep anxiety among the US voting public with a technology that so far has escaped government oversight or meaningful regulation.

According to Politico, which conducted the survey, “63% of Americans say AI could destroy humanity one day. And nearly half of Americans favor pausing development of more advanced AI models—48%—compared with 31% who favor continued development.”

The findings, the news outlet noted, “signal an emerging tech-skeptical realignment of American politics with consequential midterm and presidential elections looming” and arrive just a day after a major symposium in Washington, DC brought together experts and lawmakers who say action must be taken before its too late.

In a separate Associated Press poll published Wednesday, US voters also expressed their concerns about the negative environmental impact of the AI industry, including the massive buildout of data centers that serves as the main infrastructure for the computing capacity needed by the major tech firms, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Space X, and others.

AP reports that while those who identify as Democrats are more concerned overall about the environmental impacts of AI, large segments of independents and Republicans also share those sentiments.

“About two-thirds of Democrats,” AP reports, “say they are ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ concerned about how AI will affect the environment, the poll found, up from about half in 2025. By contrast, about half of independents and about 4 in 10 Republicans are highly concerned about the environmental impact of AI.”

Broader consensus was found on the issue of data centers, the outlet noted, with approximately 60% of all voters—regardless of partisan affiliation—in support of limiting the number of new data centers and shared concerns about the impact such facilities will have on local water supplies and electricity prices.

The new survey data from both AP and Politico comes amid a high-profile debate in Washington, DC that has emerged over recent weeks and months as grave warnings—including from experts within the industry—tell of a technology that demands much more government control and public accountability.

At a forum on Tuesday billed as “The Pro-Human Assembly”—headlined by progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and far-right former Trump advisor Steve Bannon—technological experts, AI industry insiders, watchdogs, and lawmakers advocated for a much more robust and critical response to the issue.

“Despite living in a so-called democracy, the public has had virtually no input into the AI revolution that is transforming the world in which they live,” Sanders said during his remarks at the event.

“Congress, under both Democratic and Republican control, has been asleep at the wheel and we now have a president whose ignorance regarding this issue is truly embarrassing," added Sanders. “Virtually all of the decisions regarding the development of AI have been made by a handful of the richest people in the world… whose chief goal is to achieve even more wealth and more power than they already have, no matter what the impact their work has on ordinary people.”

In a video posted to social media on Tuesday, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) also demanded a shift in Congress which has for too long stood idly by as the AI industry lobby plowed tens of millions of dollars into shaping the terms of debate on Capitol Hill and bankrolling political campaigns.

“The ongoing AI threat has been enabled by political corruption,” Van Hollen warned in his post.

The ongoing AI threat has been enabled by political corruption.

The Trump admin isn’t asleep at the wheel; their refusal to address these risks is part of an implicit deal.

We should pump the brakes on frontier AI development & confront a corrupt system that’s endangering us… pic.twitter.com/B9KPOgHrdY
— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) September 16, 2026

“The people building this technology are concerned about the loss of human control,” Van Hollen said. “We need to pump the breaks until we have rules in place to stop this technology from doing grave harm. And that includes instituting mandatory safeguards and a comprehensive testing regime.”

“This should not be a partisan issue,” he continued. “The impact of AI on our collective future, on our safety, on our security, on our economy, and on our shared humanity—but be the type of risk that bring us all together.”

While blasting Trump’s recent comments decrying concerns of AI dangers as “a hoax” to be ignored, Van Hollen said what can’t be ignored is the manner in which the industry and its financial backers have used their outsized wealth and power to create the current situation in which AI has avoided serious oversight.

“The Silicon Valley big-wig investors and tech oligarchs that have bankrolled Donald Trump back into the White House, didn’t do it because they all became MAGA overnight. They did it because there was an implicit deal. In return for their support and funding his vanity projects, like his obscene ballroom, they wanted something in return: a free hand on AI policy.”

Progressive political journalist David Sirota said Van Hollen’s message was spot on.

“Van Hollen absolutely nails it,” said Sirota. “He explicitly says AI oligarchs should be held civilly and criminally liable under existing laws, and he points out that the AI crisis is a crisis of corruption. This is the message.”

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