Majorities Oppose DoD Forcing AI Companies to Grant Access to AI for Military, Surveillance Purposes; Oppose Warrantless Surveillance
Washington, D.C. — On Wednesday, Demand Progress released a poll conducted by Data for Progress showing that significant majorities of Americans oppose the federal government’s plans to use their AI for military and surveillance purposes. The poll finds that:
- 53 percent of voters, including 62 percent of independents, think the government should not be able to compel AI companies to provide unrestricted access to AI technology for military operations
- 66 percent of voters, including 76 percent of independents and 52 percent of Republicans, think the government should not be able to force AI companies to grant unrestricted access for analyzing American citizens’ personal data
On Monday, AI company Anthropic sued the government after the Trump administration deemed the company to be a supply chain risk. Previously, Anthropic denied the U.S. Defense Department unrestricted access to the company’s AI technology for military and surveillance purposes.
The online poll of 1,251 U.S. likely voters nationally was conducted from March 6 to 8, 2026. The poll also asked how voters felt about a controversial renewal of certain sweeping warrantless surveillance powers—namely Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which is set to expire on April 20 if Congress does not reauthorize it. Specifically:
- Only 12 percent of voters, including only 17 percent of Republicans and eight percent of independents, think Congress should renew the government’s authority to conduct certain surveillance and monitoring activities without reforms
- Conversely, 37 percent of voters think FISA should not be renewed at all, including 45 percent of independents and 46 percent of Democrats (versus eight and nine percent who support reauthorizing as-is, respectively)
- 37 percent of voters, including a plurality of 41 percent of Republicans, think FISA should only be reauthorized with restrictions on purchasing personal data
“Our poll found that Americans are deeply concerned about the government’s ability to use AI technology to make life-or-death military decisions and pry into the personal lives of people in the United States,” said Demand Progress AI Policy Advisor Colin McGlynn. “Congress needs to listen to the American people and act urgently to stop the unholy alliance of AI and data brokers to fuel war and mass surveillance.”