Survey Reveals Surprising Political Divide on AI Governance
A recent survey conducted by the Heartland Institute and Rasmussen Reports has uncovered an unexpected trend among younger voters. The poll of 1,496 likely voters aged 18 to 39 found that self-identified conservatives showed greater willingness to grant artificial intelligence sweeping control over government functions than their liberal counterparts.
This finding seems counterintuitive given the years of conservative criticism about AI systems leaning left politically. The survey asked respondents about proposals to let AI control public policy decisions, determine constitutional rights, or command the world’s largest militaries with the stated goal of reducing war casualties.
Donald Kendal, director of the Glenn C. Haskins Emerging Issues Center at the Heartland Institute, expressed surprise at the results. “If you go into the cross tabs, those who self-identified as Republicans or conservatives were more likely to say yes or support these proposals,” Kendal told Decrypt. “As for why that’s the case, honestly, I’m at a loss.”
Trust Deficit Driving AI Support
Kendal suggested that the support might stem from broader dissatisfaction with existing institutions rather than genuine confidence in AI systems. “We’ve got so little trust, faith in our institutions,” he noted. “There’s such a terrible approval rating of Congress that it’s so bad that we might as well just blow it all up and start from scratch.”
The timing of these findings aligns with record-low trust in government institutions. An October 2025 Gallup poll showed only 15% of Americans approve of Congress’s performance. These dismal numbers might explain why some respondents view AI as a preferable alternative to current leadership structures.
More than a third of young voters supported giving AI control of the world’s largest armies, according to the survey. Kendal believes some respondents took the question’s framing at face value. “If you’re taking that in good faith, fewer casualties of war is a fairly sympathetic dream,” he observed.
Misconceptions About AI Objectivity
Kendal emphasized that the support levels reveal a fundamental misunderstanding about how AI systems actually work. “There’s this misconception that AI systems are just these objective sources of truth,” he said. “One of the things I try to drive home is dispelling this illusion that artificial intelligence is unbiased. It is very clearly biased, and some of that is passive.”
The survey results appear particularly confounding given the documented political biases in major AI systems. Multiple studies have found that large language models tend to produce left-of-center responses. A peer-reviewed Public Choice study, research from the Manhattan Institute, and a 2024 American Enterprise Institute review all reached similar conclusions about AI political leanings.
Yet despite this evidence, young conservatives seem more open to AI governance. Perhaps it’s the appeal of starting fresh with something perceived as neutral, even if that perception might be mistaken. Or maybe it’s simply frustration with the current system reaching a breaking point.
Kendal offered a sobering perspective on our increasing reliance on AI systems. “We do so at our own peril and with a blindfold on, because these things aren’t obvious,” he warned. The survey suggests that when trust in human institutions erodes enough, even potentially flawed technological solutions can start to look appealing.
