AJC poll: Georgians want government to regulate AI; most oppose data centers.

In this heated political climate, it can feel like there are few things Republicans and Democrats can agree on. But there is at least one area where they find common ground: government regulation of artificial intelligence.

It comes as both adoption and wariness of AI are growing.

In a new Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll, nearly seven in 10 voters polled said they believe the U.S. government should be doing more to regulate the use of AI rather than the companies regulating themselves. That includes 61% of Republicans and 82% of Democrats.

Three of five also oppose the construction of more data centers in Georgia to serve AI, though that opposition is strongest among Democrats and independent voters.

The results are part of a new survey conducted by the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs for the AJC of 1,000 likely general election voters in Georgia ahead of the Nov. 3 election. The survey’s margin of error is 3.1 percentage points.

Toccoa resident Julie Durham, 60, jokingly calls ChatGPT her boyfriend, often using the live conversation feature to get help in her day-to-day, like planning for an upcoming international trip.

But although Durham finds AI useful, she’s still wary of it and said she believes regulation needs to come from both the government and the companies.

“I think it’s got to be dual,” the Republican told the AJC. “I think both of them need to be accountable. What scares me is if that thing knows so much about me … that’s going somewhere else. I mean, it’s not just me and my boyfriend talking. It’s coming from somewhere.”

The debate on whether to regulate AI has been raging in statehouses and the federal government for years, but has ramped up in recent months as some of the U.S.’ most prominent AI companies have disclosed cyberattacks by AI agents seemingly evading human instructions.

So far this year, there have been more than 260 incidents reported globally of AI systems causing, or nearly causing, a variety of harms, according to the AI Incident Database.

Late last month, President Donald Trump and leading AI officials from OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic, Google, Nvidia and xAI signed a voluntary accord to “self-police,” Trump told reporters.

For Alvanetta Alexander, a Democrat in South Fulton who uses AI both personally and in her work as an informatics nurse, there needs to be some government oversight.

“Historically, when we’ve asked that companies self-regulate, largely they regulate toward their own interest,” Alexander, 47, said. “So I do believe that some outside, i.e. either governmental or third-party regulation, is warranted.”

Data centers in Georgia

As the use of AI has grown, so, too, has the number of data centers. Georgia has the most data center space currently under construction of anywhere in the country, enticed by lucrative tax incentives provided to developers and tech companies.

More than half of Georgia voters surveyed — 61% — opposed the construction of additional data centers for AI, the AJC poll found. Among Republicans, that figure was slightly lower, at 47%, while 79% of Democrats somewhat or strongly opposed additional construction.

For voters who were against building more data centers, they cited the environmental impact as well as the quality of life for those living close to the centers, and water and electricity consumption as their top concerns.

In the Georgia governor’s race, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms has called for a statewide pause on the development and construction of new data centers. Her rival, Republican Rick Jackson, says he wants guardrails on the projects and said communities should make their own decisions.

Michael Fleming, a lifelong Democrat in Douglasville, said he supports their construction, but only if there’s regulation.

“I’m for the data centers, but with all the other caveats that come with it, that we’ve got to make sure that we’re protecting the interests of the collective community,” Fleming, 57, said.

Durham, the Toccoa Republican, said she felt data centers were “necessary evils.”

“I don’t want them to be as frequently visible as a Dollar General everywhere,” she said. “But again, it’s got to be policed. It’s got to be monitored. It’s got to be regulated by somebody.”

Flock Safety and surveillance cameras

Along with the use of AI and construction of data centers, communities are also debating how surveillance technology should be used by law enforcement, particularly automated license plate readers like those found in cameras from Atlanta-based Flock Safety.

Police and Flock officials argue the technology helps solve cases and lowers crime, while critics contend the surveillance is an invasion of privacy. Flock did not respond to a request for comment about the public backlash to its products.

In Georgia, dozens of law enforcement officers have been fired or arrested in recent months for allegedly using Flock’s sprawling network of tag readers for “non-law enforcement purposes.” Atlanta officials recently scrutinized the city police department’s use of the technology.

Among the voters surveyed, 51% opposed the use of surveillance cameras by law enforcement, 43% supported it, and about 5% didn’t know. More Democrats opposed the technology than Republicans, but the issue can transcend party lines.

Although Alexander, a Democrat, can see the arguments against them, she said because of Flock cameras, her family was able to find her aunt with Alzheimer’s who drove off without anyone knowing and got lost in Atlanta.

“I see the worth in it, and so I can’t say with my full heart that I would love to see them go. I know that that’s the only reason why we got to her in the time that we did,” she said.

But Aaron Tucker, a Republican in Brunswick, said he thinks the cameras are government overreach and he “cannot stand them.”