Reuters/Ipsos poll: 73% of Americans say AI firms are not doing enough to prevent serious harm; 55% want AI slowed
A Reuters/Ipsos poll of 1,277 US adults (Sept 17–20, 2026; published Sept 22) found that 73% worry AI companies have not done enough to prevent AI from causing serious harm. 55% said slowing AI development would be good (13% opposed), and 73% put safe development ahead of staying ahead of other nations. The share saying AI has a negative impact on society rose to 39%, the highest since Reuters/Ipsos began asking in March.
Key facts
- Sample: 1,277 US adults, Sept 17–20, 2026, margin of error ~3 points; Reuters (Jason Lange)
- 73% worry AI firms haven't done enough to prevent serious harm
- 55% say slowing AI development would be good vs 13% opposed
- 73% prioritize safe, responsible development vs 23% staying ahead of other nations
- 39% say AI has a negative impact on society (36% in August; highest since March); 11% view it positively
- 69% had followed news of major AI companies calling for slowdown and oversight
What happened
Reuters/Ipsos polled Americans a week after the labs' public calls to pace frontier AI and amid the summer's agent incidents.
Why it matters
It measures the public backdrop to the September 2026 policy moment, including the White House AI summit and voluntary standards: a large majority favour safety over speed, and negative views of AI are at a record high in this series.
Unverified: the original reuters.com URL was not captured; figures come from syndicated copies of the Reuters story.
Changelog
- 2026-10-01: created (leads run)
Related events
- Dario Amodei publishes "We Must Pace the Frontier", calling for a deliberate slowdown ★★★★
- Trump hosts AI CEOs at the White House; they sign a voluntary 'morally binding' Accord on Superintelligence, and Trump rejects new federal AI rules ★★★★
Sources (2)
- pressSRN News (Reuters syndication): Three out of four Americans say AI firms not doing enough to prevent disaster
- pressAmerican Bazaar: 73% of Americans say AI firms are not doing enough
id: 2026-09-22-reuters-ipsos-poll-ai-firms-not-doing-enough · updated 2026-10-01 · open in the interactive timeline