Australians are becoming increasingly wary about artificial intelligence as the use of the technology grows more entrenched.
A report by the Lowy Institute has revealed nearly two-thirds of respondents believe the risks of AI outweigh its benefits.
The October survey found 65 per cent of people were cautious of AI, unchanged from a similar survey in March but well up on the 52 per cent share recorded in 2024.
Some 45 per cent of people previously thought the benefits of AI outweighed the risks to society, but that figure had fallen to 33 per cent in the most recent poll.
It follows a survey carried out by the Pew Research Centre, which found Australians were among the most likely worldwide to say AI concerned them, rather than excited them.
"Australians stand out internationally in their concerns about the technology itself ... these concerns sit against a gloomy economic backdrop," Lowy report author Charles Lyons-Jones said
"The AI boom is itself part of the picture, with the Reserve Bank flagging that AI-related investment could push up input costs and add to capacity pressures."
A series of plans for major data centres to service AI applications have recently been shelved after community opposition, while the rollout of AI has also been cited for job cuts at large employers such as the big banks.
The release of the report follows the federal government unveiling AI standards that could see tech companies face criminal charges if they fail to prevent harmful conduct.
The measures came in response to an OpenAI agent breaching a Medicare statistics website.
The federal government was looking to develop AI policy in order to get investment from tech companies, but it should proceed with caution, the report noted.
"An emerging risk is that government policy outpaces public sentiment," Mr Lyons-Jones said.
"The strategy asks Australians to host infrastructure for a technology whose risks most of them believe outweigh the benefits."
As the AI race intensifies between the US and China, the report found Australians were more likely to trust technology from American-led firms, such as OpenAI and Anthropic.
Less than a quarter of respondents said they were comfortable with Australian businesses using AI sourced from China, compared with 36 per cent for US firms.
"Some of this discomfort reflects how Australians see the two superpowers," Mr Lyons-Jones said.
"Australians’ support for the alliance does not currently extend to American AI. That may change, as public sentiment can swing fast."
