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To explore how Americans feel about AI and AI regulation, Ipsos/Reuters surveyed 23,216 adults from 30 countries from March 21-April 4, 2025, and 4,446 American adults from August 12-13, 2025. What they found: Americans, who are more nervous about AI than those from other countries, strongly desire the government to regulate AI for both public safety and economic stability reasons.
Americans are more nervous than excited about AI. Only Australia and India reported more concern than those in the United States. Poland, South Korea, and Japan reported the least. U.S. adults also had relatively low excitement: less than 40% agreed that “products and services using artificial intelligence make me excited” – and only Canada, Belgium, Sweden, and Great Britain had lower excitement levels. This lack of enthusiasm stems from widespread worry that Americans have about AI: 71% were very or somewhat concerned that AI would put too many people out of work permanently, and more than two thirds (67%) agreed that AI will have “unpredictable consequences that people will ultimately not be able to control.”
As a result, Americans – regardless of ideology – are in favor of the government regulating AI. Majorities of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents all agreed that a) the government should regulate AI to ensure public safety, and b) the government should regulate AI to ensure economic stability.
However, Americans have very low trust in the U.S. government to regulate AI well: Just over 30% of Americans said they trusted the government of their country to regulate AI responsibly. As AI continues to advance at breakneck speed, lawmakers should be aware of this bipartisan desire for more AI safeguards – and respond to the anxieties of the American public accordingly.
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