Semafor poll: voters want AI safeguards, even at cost

The polling lands as a regulatory push is gathering pace in response to voter frustration, even though the White House has so far shown little interest and the Trump administration has pursued a laissez-faire approach to AI. Some industry leaders have warned that the technology poses an existential risk to humanity, a contrast with the hands-off posture described. The public mood is not uniform: support for AI data center construction has recovered somewhat among Republicans, a recent Heatmap poll found, but the public writ large remains highly opposed. A former tech executive told The Wall Street Journal that “the backlash is far-reaching,” suggesting the frustration extends beyond any single policy dispute.