<div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-0"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">In a polarized America divided on matters of <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/14/us/politics/war-iran-americans-opinions.html" title="">war</a>, immigration enforcement and even the Super Bowl <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/us/trump-bad-bunny-super-bowl-halftime-show.html" title="">halftime show</a>, Democrats and Republicans are finding common ground on one issue — the growing unease about <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/27/technology/ai-artificial-intelligence-backlash.html" title="">artificial intelligence.</a></p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">As public concerns mount about the threat that A.I. poses to jobs, energy prices, education, privacy and mental health, politicians from both parties are beginning to scramble, sometimes haltingly, to address the issue.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">A <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/11/06/republicans-democrats-now-equally-concerned-about-ai-in-daily-life-but-views-on-regulation-differ/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">Pew Research Center poll</a> last year found that 50 percent of Republicans and 51 percent of Democrats said that they were more concerned than excited about the increased use of A.I. in daily life. (Just 10 percent of voters said they were more excited than concerned, the survey found.) An NBC News poll <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/poll-majority-voters-say-risks-ai-outweigh-benefits-rcna262196" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">released last month</a> found that a majority of voters believe that the risks of A.I. outweigh the benefits. A fifth of voters said Republicans were better at handling A.I., a fifth said Democrats were, and a third said that neither party was good at it.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">“It’s not being divided along those partisan lines like a lot of other issues are,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion. “In 2026 it’s very unusual. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west and after that we have very little agreement on anything.”</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="Dropzone-1"></div><div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-1"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">The huge data centers that power the industry and drive up electricity prices have become an early flashpoint, with <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/us/politics/liberals-conservatives-data-centers.html" title="">Democrats and Republicans working together</a> to try to stop them in <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://mjbommar.github.io/moratorium-data-2026/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">dozens of states and municipalities.</a></p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">The growing concern comes at a moment when tech billionaires more broadly are viewed with skepticism and hostility. The industry has taken notice, <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/21/us/politics/ai-money-midterms-openai-anthropic.html" title="">pouring tens of millions of dollars</a> into the political arena to try to influence regulation efforts. Younger voters tend to view A.I. more favorably but even their enthusiasm appears to be dampening, said Ashley Koning, director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University.</p><div class="css-kbghgg"><div class="css-121kum4"><div class="css-171d1bw"></div><div class="css-asuuk5"><noscript><div class="css-7axq9l" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="css-1b5b8u1" data-tpl="i" height="24" viewbox="0 0 24 24" width="24"><path clip-rule="evenodd" d="M2.5 12a9.5 9.5 0 1 1 19 0 9.5 9.5 0 0 1-19 0Zm8.5 1.75v-7.5h2v7.5h-2Zm0 2v2h2v-2h-2Z" fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><div class="css-6yo1no" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript-message"><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.</p><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.</p></div></div></noscript><div class="css-1dv1kvn" id="optimistic-truncator-a11y" tabindex="-1"><hr/><p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. 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