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Americans hate AI, which party will benefit?
It’s become a common occurrence: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer posts a light-hearted video on social media. She’s Christmas shopping, or she’s talking about her Michigan accent or she’s touting her administration’s accomplishments. And immediately, the comments start rolling in, all demanding the same thing: Say no to data centers in the state. Stop construction. “All I want for Christmas is legislation banning data centers in Michigan.” National figures in the party are beginning to notice the anger. What began on the ground with widespread protests against the facilities that provide infrastructure for the growth of artificial intelligence is finding its way into new plans, memos and rhetoric as the Democratic Party thinks about how to win in 2026 and 2028.
It’s an argument that began in the progressive wing but is increasingly finding purchase across the party: Be proudly, loudly, without reservations, anti-AI. It’s not enough, these pollsters, consultants and elected officials say, to caution, minimally regulate and signal a friendly stance toward tech companies building AI. There is a massive, growing opportunity for Democrats to tap into rising anxiety, fear and anger about the havoc AI could wreak in people’s lives, they say, on issues from energy affordability to large-scale job losses, and channel it toward a populist movement — and not doing it, or not doing it strongly enough, will hurt the party.
… To many people who spend their days thinking about how Democrats can energize their base and prove their anti-billionaire bona fides, going all-in on opposing the AI industry is one obvious, winning way to do so. The loosely defined coalition of people calling for this approach includes socialists, independents from rural states and mainstream Democrats who have turned concern about tech into a pet issue, arguing it can form the basis of a new populist brand of politics that has long proven difficult for Democrats to execute effectively and on a large scale — but whose time may have come... That’s because the polls almost speak for themselves. There is hardly any issue that polls lower than unchecked AI development among Americans. Gallup polling showed that 80 percent of American adults think the government should regulate AI, even if it means growing more slowly. Pew, meanwhile, ran a study that showed only 17 percent of Americans think AI will have a positive impact on the U.S. over the next 20 years. Even congressional Democrats, at a record low 18 percent approval, beat that out, according to Quinnipiac.
…Across parts of the party, there’s growing concern that there aren’t enough mainstream Democratic politicians willing to run hard against AI development. In recent months, that’s beginning to change, with more establishment Democrats beginning to talk about the issue. But they’re still moving too slowly, many critics say — and potentially leaving a very valuable issue on the table to be taken up by a populist Republican. “Smart strategists in the party are starting to get this,” said a Democratic political operative who was granted anonymity to speak freely about the party, “but this feels akin to Joe Biden not talking about the cost-of-living crisis for two years.”
…Most mainstream Democrats have been either quiet on the issue or trumpeting the success of AI advancement, while also noting the need for some regulation aimed at discrete concerns — affordability, for instance, or intellectual property rights. There are multiple big reasons for this reticence, according to insiders: A concern about further angering the tech industry, a belief the government can’t put the AI genie back in the bottle and a simple lack of understanding about the technology…But while many Democrats stay quiet, Americans are getting worried. “The AI issue is growing in salience amongst the public, and their concern is growing as well,” said Ryan O’Donnell, the executive director of the progressive polling firm Data for Progress. “Voters are very concerned about [AI’s] application, and the fear of job displacement is incredibly widespread.”
More at https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/12/28/ai-job-losses-populism-democrats-bernie-sanders-00706680
It’s an argument that began in the progressive wing but is increasingly finding purchase across the party: Be proudly, loudly, without reservations, anti-AI. It’s not enough, these pollsters, consultants and elected officials say, to caution, minimally regulate and signal a friendly stance toward tech companies building AI. There is a massive, growing opportunity for Democrats to tap into rising anxiety, fear and anger about the havoc AI could wreak in people’s lives, they say, on issues from energy affordability to large-scale job losses, and channel it toward a populist movement — and not doing it, or not doing it strongly enough, will hurt the party.
… To many people who spend their days thinking about how Democrats can energize their base and prove their anti-billionaire bona fides, going all-in on opposing the AI industry is one obvious, winning way to do so. The loosely defined coalition of people calling for this approach includes socialists, independents from rural states and mainstream Democrats who have turned concern about tech into a pet issue, arguing it can form the basis of a new populist brand of politics that has long proven difficult for Democrats to execute effectively and on a large scale — but whose time may have come... That’s because the polls almost speak for themselves. There is hardly any issue that polls lower than unchecked AI development among Americans. Gallup polling showed that 80 percent of American adults think the government should regulate AI, even if it means growing more slowly. Pew, meanwhile, ran a study that showed only 17 percent of Americans think AI will have a positive impact on the U.S. over the next 20 years. Even congressional Democrats, at a record low 18 percent approval, beat that out, according to Quinnipiac.
…Across parts of the party, there’s growing concern that there aren’t enough mainstream Democratic politicians willing to run hard against AI development. In recent months, that’s beginning to change, with more establishment Democrats beginning to talk about the issue. But they’re still moving too slowly, many critics say — and potentially leaving a very valuable issue on the table to be taken up by a populist Republican. “Smart strategists in the party are starting to get this,” said a Democratic political operative who was granted anonymity to speak freely about the party, “but this feels akin to Joe Biden not talking about the cost-of-living crisis for two years.”
…Most mainstream Democrats have been either quiet on the issue or trumpeting the success of AI advancement, while also noting the need for some regulation aimed at discrete concerns — affordability, for instance, or intellectual property rights. There are multiple big reasons for this reticence, according to insiders: A concern about further angering the tech industry, a belief the government can’t put the AI genie back in the bottle and a simple lack of understanding about the technology…But while many Democrats stay quiet, Americans are getting worried. “The AI issue is growing in salience amongst the public, and their concern is growing as well,” said Ryan O’Donnell, the executive director of the progressive polling firm Data for Progress. “Voters are very concerned about [AI’s] application, and the fear of job displacement is incredibly widespread.”
More at https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/12/28/ai-job-losses-populism-democrats-bernie-sanders-00706680
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