Just 13% of voters support Meta open sourcing its new AI model Llama 3 and about three-quarters of them believe Meta should create a responsible scaling policy.

Americans overwhelmingly oppose Meta open sourcing their new AI model and their recent decision to do so negatively impacts voters’ view of the social media company, a new poll from The Artificial Intelligence Policy Institute finds. Additionally, the new polling data reveals that voters want Meta and other companies to institute responsible scaling policies and a plurality would be less likely to use Facebook if Meta declines to do so. 

The survey—conducted in late April—also found that the vast majority of voters disapprove of AI-create romantic relationships and do not believe social media platforms should allow ads for companies that create them. 

Poll Highlights on Meta:

• After being informed of the arguments both in favor and against it, 51% of voters oppose Meta’s decision to open source their newest artificial intelligence text model, Llama 3, while 13% oppose it. 
• Meta’s decision to open source Llama 3 causes 46% of voters to have a more negative opinion of the company and leads 14% of them to have a more positive opinion of the company 
• 73% say Meta should create a responsible scaling policy—a plan that AI developers put in place to make sure they can handle the AI capabilities they are creating safely by specifying which potentially dangerous abilities would be unsafe to develop without the right protections—while 10% say they should not
• In multiple different use case examples, the more powerful the model is, the more opposed voters are to the AI model being open sourced. For example, 34% support open sourcing weak text models that write basic messages, but have trouble with complex logic, and 38% oppose it, while just 23% support open sourcing AI models that can write more complicated messages, write basic computer programs, and mimic humans effectively and a majority, 51%, say restricted and closed source is best for such models.
• If Meta creates a responsible scaling policy, about three times as many voters say they would view it more favorably (42%) than would view it less favorably (11%)
• When asked which is more important, “Meta creates a responsible scaling policy to reduce the risks of their models”  or “Meta makes their AI models as open and accessible as possible,” 66% choose the former while just 8% select the latter.  
• 44% have a favorable opinion of Meta, while 47% hold an unfavorable view of it  

“Americans are saying loud and clear that they do not approve of Meta open sourcing its new AI text model and prioritize responsible scaling over widespread access,” said AI Policy Institute Executive Director Daniel Colson. “Not only does their approach pose high levels of risk to the general public, it carries risks for the company; a plurality of voters say their decision makes them view the company in a more negative light. With the company’s favorability ratings already under water, Meta executives should take note of what the general public is saying on its shiny new toy.”  
    
Poll Highlights on AI Romantic Relationships:

• 75% of voters disapprove of companies creating AI girlfriends and AI boyfriends, while just 10% approve of the practice.
• 76% believe social media platforms should not allow ads for AI girlfriends and AI boyfriends, and just 11% think they should allow them 
• 67% are worried that, as AI becomes more advanced, people will substitute AI for human companionship, while 23% are not worried about that happening  
• 65% believe it would be a bad thing for AI to improve to the point where it could interact like one’s perfect romantic and sexual partner while just 8% believe it would be a bad thing.  

About the Poll 

The poll surveyed 1,145 registered voters on April 29. The poll was conducted in English, and its margin of error is ±5.8 percentage points.

See full toplines here.

About The Artificial Intelligence Policy Institute
The Artificial Intelligence Policy Institute is an AI policy and research think tank founded by Daniel Colson to advocate for ethical oversight of AI for mitigating potential catastrophic risks posed by AI. AIPI’s core mission is to demonstrate that the general public has valid concerns about the future of AI and is looking for regulation and guidance from their elected representatives. If politicians want to represent the American people effectively, they must act aggressively to regulate AI’s next phases of development. AIPI seeks to work with the media and policymakers to inform them of the risks of artificial intelligence and develop policies that mitigate risks from emerging technology while still benefiting from artificial intelligence.

While much of the public discussion has been oriented around AI’s potential to take away jobs, AIPI will be focused on centering the importance of policies designed to prevent catastrophic outcomes and mitigate the risk of extinction. Currently, most of the AI space comprises those with a vested interest in advancing AI or are academics.

The AI space lacks an organization to both gauge and shape public opinion on the issues—as well as to recommend legislation on the matter— and AIPI will fill that role. 

Ultimately, policymakers are political actors, so the country needs an institution that can speak the language of public opinion sentiment. AIPI’s mission is about being able to channel how Americans feel about artificial intelligence and pressure lawmakers to take action.

AIPI will build relationships with lawmakers by using polling to establish AIPI as a subject matter expert on AI safety and policy issues. Politicians are incentivized to support AI slowdown policies due to the strong majority of voters supporting slowdown and regulation. But AI is currently less salient as a political issue than other topics, as so far, there have only been moderate impacts from emerging AI tech. 

AI technological advancement is and will continue to be an evolving situation, and politicians, the media, and everyday Americans need real-time information to make sense of it all. AIPI’s polling will show where people stand on new developments and provide crucial policy recommendations for policymakers.  

Learn more at https://www.theaipi.org/ or follow Daniel on Twitter at @DanielColson6