从社交媒体到体育博彩，美国人已变得极其愿意采用新技术，而不一定认为这些技术对我们、我们的健康、我们的社会或我们的星球有益。人工智能可能是迄今为止最清晰的例子。
From social media to sports betting, Americans have become remarkably willing to adopt new technologies without necessarily believing they're good for us or our health, our society, or our planet. Artificial intelligence may be the clearest example yet.
根据我的公司Outward Intelligence（外向智能）本月进行的一项全国性调查，仅有39%的美国人认为AI对社会有积极影响，而44%的人认为其影响是消极的。只有15%的人表示对AI的增长感到兴奋。
Just 39% of Americans say AI has a positive impact on society, compared with 44% who believe its impact is negative, according to a national survey conducted this month by my company, Outward Intelligence. Only 15% say they're excited about AI's growth.
但这里存在着一种脱节：虽然58%的美国人不信任AI公司领导者能为社会的最大利益做决策，但41%的人表示他们每天都在使用AI聊天机器人。在认为AI危害社会的美国人中，大约有一半每周至少使用一次AI聊天机器人。
But here’s the disconnect: While 58% of Americans don't trust the leaders of AI companies to make decisions in society's best interests, 41% say they use AI chatbots every day. Among Americans who believe AI harms society, roughly half use AI chatbots at least weekly.
在某些方面，这不应让我们感到惊讶。人们可以欣赏社交媒体的便利性，同时质疑其对儿童的影响。他们可以参与体育博彩的繁荣，同时担心其后果，从成瘾到经济困难。他们可以在网上购物，同时担心本地企业的衰落。他们也可以依赖智能手机，同时认为这些设备已经削弱了注意力和人际联系。
In some ways, this shouldn't surprise us. People can appreciate the convenience of social media while questioning its effects on children. They can participate in the boom in sports betting while worrying about its consequences, from addiction to financial hardship. They can shop online while worrying about the decline of local businesses. And they can rely on smartphones while believing those devices have undermined attention and human connection.
但AI考验着美国消费者同时在脑海中坚持两种相互矛盾想法的意愿极限。其影响不仅是经济层面的，也是政治层面的：当美国人拥抱一项技术，却不信任负责创建它、监督并控制其发展节奏的机构时，会发生什么？
But AI tests the limits of the U.S. consumer’s appetite for holding two contradictory ideas in their minds at once. And the implications are political as much as economic: What happens when Americans embrace a technology but don't trust the institutions responsible for creating it as well as overseeing and pacing its development?
在我们的调查中，约三分之二的美国人表示，候选人在AI问题上的立场可能会影响他们在即将到来的中期选举中的投票，尽管大多数人承认其他问题更重要。大约六分之一的人表示，这实际上可能决定他们的投票。
In our survey, about two-thirds of Americans said a candidate's position on AI could influence their vote in the upcoming Midterm elections, although most acknowledged that other issues matter more. Roughly one in six said it could actually determine their vote.
两党似乎都未能在独立选民中就该问题建立起多少公信力。近三分之二的独立选民表示，他们不信任任何一方负责任地处理人工智能，或者对双方同样信任，又或者拿不准。
Neither party appears to have established much credibility with independent voters on the issue. Nearly two-thirds of independents say they don’t trust either party to handle AI responsibly, or that they trust both equally, or that they’re unsure.
数据中心是关于人工智能的更广泛辩论变得更加具体、反对声音更加一致的地方。超过半数受访者表示，他们会反对在居住地附近建设大型数据中心。近四成受访者表示会强烈反对。
Data centers are where the broader debate over AI becomes much more concrete, and where opposition becomes more unified. More than half of respondents say they would oppose construction of a large data center near where they live. Nearly four in ten would strongly oppose it.
他们的担忧切中肯綮。电费位居首位，其次是用水量和环境影响。美国的国际竞争力——这已成为扩大人工智能基础设施的核心论据——排名要低得多。
Their concerns are practical. Electricity costs rank first, followed by water usage and environmental impact. America's ability to compete internationally, which has become a central argument for expanding AI infrastructure, ranks much lower.
对科技公司而言，建设数据中心可能代表着对美国经济未来的投资。对附近居民而言，这可能意味着担心电费账单、当地资源，以及社区在决策中究竟有多少话语权。结果是，构建人工智能的人如何看待其收益，与普通美国人如何看待其成本，两者之间的鸿沟日益加大。
To a tech company, building a data center may represent an investment in America's economic future. To someone living nearby, it may mean worrying about electricity bills, local resources, and whether the community has much say in the decision. The result is a growing chasm between how the people building AI think about its benefits and how ordinary Americans think about its costs.
相关的政治代价也很显著。当被问及强烈支持建设更多数据中心的候选人时，42%的选民表示该立场会让他们不太可能投票给该候选人，而认为更可能投票者为27%。在独立选民中，这一差距更大：49%对19%。
The associated political costs are significant, too. When asked about candidates who strongly support building more data centers, 42% of voters say that position would make them less likely to vote for a candidate, vs. 27% who say it would make them more likely. Among independents, the gap is even wider: 49% to 19%.
因此，虽然人工智能可能不是所有选民在11月大选中的首要议题，但他们对人工智能的态度暴露了技术进步政治中的一种张力。承诺创新和经济增长无法回答关于电费账单和企业问责的问题，表达对技术的担忧也无法解释如何获取其潜在收益。
So while AI may not be a top issue for all voters in November, their attitudes toward AI expose a tension in the politics of technological progress. Promising innovation and economic growth doesn't answer questions about electricity bills and corporate accountability, and expressing concern about the technology doesn't explain how to capture its potential benefits.
人工智能公司现在要求公众给予极大的信任。它们正在开发可能重塑就业、教育和经济的系统，同时进行将影响全国各地社区的大规模基础设施投资。与此同时，美国人正在权衡谁将受益、谁将承担成本——以及出了问题谁该负责。
AI companies now ask for an enormous amount of public faith. They're developing systems that could reshape employment, education, and the economy, while making major infrastructure investments that will affect communities across the country. Americans, meanwhile, are weighing who benefits, who bears the costs—and who is accountable when things go wrong.
美国人已经表现出愿意使用人工智能。对硅谷和华盛顿而言，更艰巨的挑战是赢得、并配得上他们的信任。
Americans have already shown they're willing to use AI. The harder challenge, for Silicon Valley and Washington alike, is earning, and deserving, their trust.