Utah & AI: Doom or Boom?

• Utah voters hold complex views about AI that recognize its benefits to science, health, and the economy, while expressing concerns about its impact in spheres of public authority and child development.
• Voters prioritize the responsibility of parents, tech companies, and schools over government for child AI safety, while also supporting AI regulation broadly.
• Survey results support an empowered-parent policy framework for AI: (1) trust parents with their responsibilities, (2) propose general guidelines that preserve autonomy for parents, tech companies, and schools, and (3) preserve the ways that AI is promoting human flourishing for both current and future generations.

State legislatures across the country have introduced hundreds of newly proposed laws seeking to govern AI development and deployment, including in Utah. The narrative driving public debates about AI legislation often portrays child safety interests and AI development interests as being in conflict.

But do these debates reflect the views of Utah voters?

A new Sutherland Institute/Y2 Analytics poll helps answer this question and offers insights for policymakers, news media, and advocates engaged in debate over AI policy. By understanding how voters view the issue and applying those insights to policymaking, lawmakers and advocates increase the chance of enacting sustainable, consensus policy solutions that represent the will of the people and fulfill the American vision of self-government.

Utah voters’ perspectives on AI are nuanced and complex. They see AI broadly in neutral terms – as a useful technological tool, like a computer – not as a form of life often portrayed in sci-fi films (although they see the possibility of sentient AI in the future).

Voters recognize both the benefits and risks of AI. They see positive impacts of AI in areas like science and business, and negative impacts in government and family life. They believe strongly that parents are responsible for child safety with AI, with tech companies and schools playing supporting roles. They do not think the government should be responsible for protecting children in AI. Yet, in the same breath, voters broadly support AI regulation in many areas of modern life. Applying the survey to ongoing debates over AI legislation suggests an empowered parent framework for AI policy: (1) trust parents with their children, don’t overrule their responsibilities and rights with laws that make decisions for them, (2) propose general AI guidelines in the law that give parents, tech companies, and schools autonomy in protecting children, and (3) recognize in policymaking the ways that AI is promoting human flourishing, and do not inhibit those possibilities for future generations.

Read the full PDF version of the report by clicking the button below.