AI environmental concerns rise as lawmakers address tech fears

A recent poll reveals that over half of Americans are now extremely or very concerned about the environmental impact of AI, marking an increase of more than ten percentage points from last year. Conducted by The AP-NORC Center and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC), the survey, which ran from July 6 to 23, found 53% of respondents hold this concern. This growing anxiety is part of a broader trend of public unease about AI, with lawmakers across the political spectrum increasingly collaborating to address these issues. Separately, a new poll indicates that a significant portion of Americans fear AI could one day pose an existential threat to humanity. This concern was recently amplified by three Anthropic researchers who warned of the potential for AI to destroy humans within this decade. Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn co-founder and a major Democratic donor, emphasized in a Wednesday essay that neither extreme accelerationist nor decelerationist views offer the optimal approach, stressing that the next three years will be pivotal in shaping AI's societal impact.