AI backlash is coming for elections

The Verge / 4/22/2026

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Key Points

  • Many Americans report concerns about AI, with growing resistance in communities that can delay data center projects across the US.
  • Social media hostility toward AI companies and executives is escalating, at times reaching rhetoric that condones or endorses violence.
  • Despite the backlash, experts argue that AI is not the dominant issue in most election campaigns, where attention is focused more on other topics.
  • Ipsos polling shows over 60% of both Republicans and Democrats support regulating AI for economic stability and public safety and slowing AI development.
  • The article suggests political pressure on AI could intensify around elections as public concerns translate into policy momentum.
Graphic photo illustration of a voting sign that reads “Vote here”.

Ask Americans how they feel about AI and most say they have concerns. Communities have mounted resistance to data center projects, stalling them across the US. On social media, anger at AI companies and executives is unrestrained - sometimes to the point of condoning violence.

But look at the issues that most campaigns are focused on, and AI is far less prevalent, experts say.

More than 60 percent of both Republicans and Democrats polled by Ipsos earlier this year agree that the government should regulate AI for economic stability and public safety, and that the technology's development should slow down. Still, "when you just ask folks, 'w …

Read the full story at The Verge.