What Americans think about the environmental impact of AI, according to a new poll
October 23, 2025
A new poll finds that as the United States rapidly builds massive data centers for the development of artificial intelligence, many Americans are concerned about the environmental impact. The AP-NORC/EPIC poll finds that worries about how AI will affect the environment surpass concerns about other industries that worsen climate change. The results suggest that as AI reshapes work, communication and culture, it’s also sparking anxieties about how the growing energy demands could further harm the environment. In many places, the electricity for data centers will come from burning fossil fuels, especially natural gas, which warms the planet.