43.55 percent of the 620 Americans we polled said they were alarmed by the idea of AI evolving into sentient beings. These people are not alone, as some well-known figures in technology have voiced such concerns. The most well-known person to identify artificial intelligence as a danger to humanity is undoubtedly Elon Musk. The CEO of Tesla has even gone so far as to suggest that AI poses a greater threat than nuclear weapons and has urged the UN to forbid its use in hostilities. One of the reasons Musk initially supported the nonprofit Open AI was because of his concern about what unreliable AI would do to the human species.
On the other hand, 33.06 percent of respondents find the idea of sentient AI to be “exciting.” They are hardly the first group to be excited about the idea of machines with independent thought. Recently, it was discovered that a sizable portion of users of the well-known AI chatbot Replika believe the AI is sentient; some have even expressed the opinion that the company’s engineering staff is “abusing” the AI. The remaining 23.39 percent are undecided about the situation.
