In a polarized America divided on matters of war, immigration enforcement and even the Super Bowl halftime show, Democrats and Republicans are finding common ground on one issue — the growing unease about artificial intelligence.
As public concerns mount about the threat that A.I. poses to jobs, energy prices, education, privacy and mental health, politicians from both parties are beginning to scramble, sometimes haltingly, to address the issue.
A Pew Research Center poll last year found that 50 percent of Republicans and 51 percent of Democrats said that they were more concerned than excited about the increased use of A.I. in daily life. (Just 10 percent of voters said they were more excited than concerned, the survey found.) An NBC News poll released last month found that a majority of voters believe that the risks of A.I. outweigh the benefits. A fifth of voters said Republicans were better at handling A.I., a fifth said Democrats were, and a third said that neither party was good at it.
“It’s not being divided along those partisan lines like a lot of other issues are,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion. “In 2026 it’s very unusual. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west and after that we have very little agreement on anything.”
The huge data centers that power the industry and drive up electricity prices have become an early flashpoint, with Democrats and Republicans working together to try to stop them in dozens of states and municipalities.
The growing concern comes at a moment when tech billionaires more broadly are viewed with skepticism and hostility. The industry has taken notice, pouring tens of millions of dollars into the political arena to try to influence regulation efforts. Younger voters tend to view A.I. more favorably but even their enthusiasm appears to be dampening, said Ashley Koning, director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University.
The push for more regulation has produced some unlikely fellow travelers from different ends of the political landscape.
Two former presidential candidates who are poles apart on many issues, Senator Bernie Sanders, the progressive Vermont independent, and Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, a Republican, have both been sounding alarms on A.I. in recent months.
Mr. Sanders delivered a speech on Wednesday warning about the threat posed by A.I. and calling for international cooperation, including with China. He cautioned that “tens of millions of jobs” in the United States could be lost in the next decade and that the “mental health challenges facing our young people” could intensify.
In Florida, Mr. DeSantis has championed sweeping A.I. regulations, warning that the technology could push America into an “age of darkness.” But Republicans in the Florida Legislature refused to pass the governor’s measures, bowing to President Trump, who has sought to block state laws regulating A.I., warning that they could make America less competitive with China. Thirty-eight states adopted or enacted A.I.-related legislation last year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
And Senator Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, is working with Senator Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, on legislation focused on the jobs that could be lost to the technology. Mr. Warner said in an interview that he viewed it as a “hair-on-fire” emergency.
“This will be the defining issue of the ’28 campaign,” Mr. Warner predicted.
But even among officials who fear that A.I. will sharply drive up unemployment in the coming years, there is little consensus on what policies could protect jobs that are at risk. The bill that Mr. Hawley and Mr. Warner are working together on calls for companies and federal agencies to report A.I. related layoffs to the Labor Department for a publicly available report.
Mr. Hawley is also pushing a chatbot safety bill, after a series of deaths of children by suicide after A.I. chatbots egged them on, according to their families. He said on a call with reporters that voters had been calling out for politicians to “do something.”
“At the end of day,” Mr. Hawley said, “it’s hard for the politicians — even those who are taking gobs of cash from A.I. companies and social-media companies — it’s hard to look those parents in the eye and say, I think I’ll side with the corporations.”
Many politicians are anxious to avoid getting on Big Tech’s bad side, given its vast financial influence. Mr. Hawley said corporations were “pushing up till the last minute” to gut his chatbot bill before it advanced out of committee.
Representative Blake Moore, a Utah Republican who is sponsoring the measure in the House, said in an interview that he believed America was in a “unique moment” when bipartisan support for A.I. regulation is growing rapidly.
But Representative Valerie Foushee, a North Carolina Democrat who is sponsoring the bill, noted that the congressional leadership had seemed unenthusiastic about taking up the issue.
“The fact that the federal government hasn’t done anything that’s meaningful gives people angst,” Ms. Foushee said in an interview. “And they’re waiting to see what we’re going to do.”
Ruth Igielnik contributed reporting.
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