More than half of Americans have a favorable view toward artificial intelligence – despite ongoing media firestorms around data centers and potential economic upheaval, according to the results of a recent survey exclusively obtained by The Post.
In a national poll conducted by HarrisX, 56% of voters said they had a favorable view about AI, while 36% had an unfavorable view. Seventy-two percent of respondents agreed that AI could help people spend less time on repetitive tasks, while 71% said they believed AI was the start of a new industrial revolution.
“The American public is actually quite optimistic about the benefits AI will bring to their lives—from medical breakthroughs to economic growth,” said Nathan Leamer, executive director of Build American AI. “Our data shows there is a real opportunity for lawmakers, industry leaders, and innovation advocates to engage Americans on the subjects they care about.”
The poll was commissioned by Build American AI, a nonprofit advocacy group, which argues the results show the perception of a major public backlash against AI development is overblown and that voters are aware of its potential benefits.
Build American AI is an offshoot of pro-tech super PAC Leading The Future, which is bankrolled by industry titans including OpenAI President Greg Brockman, Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale and Andreessen Horowitz.
For example, 61% of respondents agreed that AI could “help cure diseases, discover new medicines, and accelerate science,” while 64% agreed that AI would “make the US more competitive against China.”
Elsewhere, 60% of voters said they felt AI could help America reindustrialize and build more products domestically.
The divide was narrower when it comes to potential safety risks associated with AI development, with 53% of voters saying America should move quickly to build AI despite the risks because foreign nations are pursuing it, compared to 47% who disagreed.
AI data centers in particular have been a source of major consternation, with critics alleging they are harmful to local environments and consume huge amounts of energy to the public’s detriment. In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul recently signed an executive order imposing a one-year moratorium on data center construction within the state.
That move generated sharp pushback from both local business leaders and President Trump, the latter of whom called it a “terrible decision.”
Some top AI executives, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, have further stoked tensions with warnings that the industry could wipe out white-collar and early-career jobs at AI becomes more advanced and takes over more work from humans.
At the same time, the White House and other tech leaders insist that advanced AI, such as Anthropic’s Fable model, are critical to national security.
HarrisX conducted interviews with 2011 registered voters across the country in July 2026.
