Most Americans surveyed by Reuters in collaboration with Ipsos, a global multinational market research firm headquartered in Paris, said the rapid growth of artificial intelligence technology could jeopardize humanity's future.

More than two-thirds of Americans are concerned about the negative effects of artificial intelligence and 61 percent believe it could threaten civilization, the report says.

Since OpenAI's ChatGPT became the fastest-growing app ever, the frantic race to integrate AI into everyday life has pushed the technology to the forefront of public discourse.

ChatGPT has announced the launch of an AI arms race, with big tech companies such as Microsoft and Google vying for AI achievements.

Negative results of artificial intelligence

An online Reuters/Ipsos poll of 4415,9 adults in the United States between May 15 and 3 found that three times as many Americans expect negative results from AI than those who do not.

According to the data, 61% of respondents believe that AI poses risks to humanity, while only 22% agree, and 17% remain unsure.

Those who voted for former US President Donald Trump in the 2020 election expressed higher levels of concern: 70% of them – compared to 60% of current President Joe Biden's voters – agreed that artificial intelligence could threaten humanity.

When it comes to religious beliefs, evangelical Christians were more likely to "strongly agree" that AI is a risk to humanity, at 32% compared to 24% of non-evangelical Christians.

Landon Klein, director of U.S. policy at the Future of Life Institute, said, "We look at the present moment along the lines of the beginning of the nuclear age, and we benefit from a public perception that is in line with the need to take action."

The Future of Life Institute launched an open letter demanding a temporary suspension of artificial intelligence research for a period of 6 months, and the letter was signed by a number of those interested in the issue of artificial intelligence, including Elon Musk, CEO of "Tesla" (Tesla).

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, expressed concerns about the misuse of artificial intelligence (AP)

Areas that are also at risk

Lawmakers and AI companies are also worried: Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, testified Tuesday before the U.S. Congress, expressing concerns about the potential misuse of the technology and demanding regulatory action.

Senator Cory Booker, one of the many lawmakers who had questions about how best to regulate AI during the Senate hearing, said: "There's no way to bottle this genie. This technology is spreading globally."

Artificial intelligence is not Americans' biggest concern

While Americans are concerned about artificial intelligence, crime and the economy rank higher on the list of serious issues on the table, with 77 percent supporting increased police funding to fight crime, and 82 percent expressing concern about the risk of recession, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Those in the AI industry argue that the public should understand the benefits of AI more. Sebastian Thrun, a professor of computer science at Stanford University, said: "The concerns are very legitimate, but I think what is lacking in dialogue in general is why are we doing this in the first place? AI will raise people's quality of life and help them be more efficient."

Ion Stoica, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who also co-founded artificial intelligence company Anyscale, said positive applications of AI, such as revolutionizing drug discovery, aren't as visible as GPT chat.

"Americans may not realize how widespread AI is in their daily lives, whether at home or at work."