The Republican Party has similarly bleak numbers, with 51% of respondents expressing an unfavorable view. But more respondents, 37%, said they had a positive view of the party, compared to just 30% saying the same for the Democratic Party. That puts Republicans at a 14-point net-negative view.
Still, Americans like AI less than even some of the most controversial organizations and political figures, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and President Donald Trump. ICE, which is enforcing Trump’s wide-spanning deportation operation, has an 18-point net negative view among registered voters. Thirty-eight percent have a favorable view of the agency, while 56% have a negative view. Just 41% have a positive view of Trump, with 53% holding a negative view. That’s a 12-point net negative view.
The only two figures with favorability numbers above water are Pope Leo XIV, with a 34-point net positive favorability, and comedian Stephen Colbert, with a 10-point net favorability.
“Until companies and institutions building AI systems can address fundamental concerns about trustworthiness, privacy, and social responsibility,” the poll’s authors wrote, “Americans will remain trapped between enthusiasm and anxiety, using AI while quietly wondering if they should.”
