Stanford Survey: Public favorability toward AI is only 23%, concerns over rising electricity costs and employment

In April 2026, the residence of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was firebombed; three days earlier, a city councilor in Indianapolis who supported data centers had 13 shots fired at his front door. Behind the violent clashes, data from Stanford HAI reveals a deep divide: 73% of experts are optimistic about the impact on employment, while only 23% of the general public shares this view. (Previous coverage: UC Berkeley study on "AI brain fog": 14% of office workers driven crazy by Agents and automation, with a 40% higher intention to quit) (Background: MicroStrategy CEO: The more successful AI is, the more dangerous it is for humanity; Bitcoin is the only antidote) The release of the "2026 AI Index Report" shows that 73% of AI experts believe the long-term impact of AI on employment is positive, and 69% believe the economic impact is equally positive. The University of Denver’s Human-Centered AI Research Center found in mid-April that only 23% of the general public is optimistic about employment and 21% about the economy. In other words, nearly two-thirds of Americans believe that AI will lead to fewer job opportunities over the next 20 years. On April 7, 2026, the home of Indianapolis Democratic City Councilor Ron Gibson was struck by 13 bullets. A note was left at the door: "No Data Centers." Gibson’s 8-year-old son was home at the time; no one was injured. According to PBS NewsHour, Gibson had publicly supported a data center development project in his district. Three days later, on April 10, 2026, the San Francisco home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was firebombed. The suspect, 20-year-old Daniel Moreno-Gama, was arrested that day. He left behind an anti-AI manifesto, identifying himself as a "butlerian jihadist"—a term borrowed from the radical faction that launched a crusade against machines in Frank Herbert’s "Dune" series—which, in plain terms, means: "I will use violence to fight AI rule." Further reading: Man accused of attempted murder in firebombing of Altman’s home; personal notebook contained names and addresses of multiple AI executives The two incidents occurred within a week of each other, 2,000 miles apart, but the logic points in the same direction: anger over AI expansion is seeping from public discourse into reality. A Gallup survey from March 2026 shows that the percentage of Gen Z feeling "excited" about AI dropped from 36% to 22%, while those feeling "angry" rose from 22% to 31%. According to Futurism, the favorability of the AI industry has fallen below that of ICE and President Trump. The source of the anger is not hard to trace. Virginia has the highest density of data centers in the U.S. A Georgetown Law report estimates that local residential electricity bills could rise by up to 25% by 2030 to subsidize the power demands of data centers. The beneficiaries are tech companies; the ones paying the bill are ordinary residents. The AI industry’s response has only deepened this distrust. In April, OpenAI released an "Industrial Policy White Paper," suggesting the creation of a sovereign wealth fund to allow the public to share in AI growth. However, at the same time, OpenAI President Greg Brockman was donating millions to a Super PAC opposing state-level AI regulations. OpenAI also supported Illinois SB 3444, a bill that would effectively exempt OpenAI from legal liability for large-scale damages caused by its AI models. Further reading: After AI rules the world? OpenAI releases policy white paper: Automation tax, sovereign wealth fund, four-day work week Microsoft released its "Community-First AI Infrastructure Initiative" in January, promising to subsidize community electricity costs and reduce water consumption in data centers, but without any independent accountability mechanism. Ronan Farrow’s in-depth investigation in The New Yorker on April 13 documented a habitual pattern of Sam Altman: publicly supporting a position, then quickly reneging when it benefits the company. This is not a matter of personal character, but a structural contradiction: AI companies need public acceptance to maintain room for expansion, while simultaneously needing to block regulation to maintain commercial advantages. It is impossible to tell the truth while pursuing both goals. 73% of experts are optimistic about the future of AI, but they are likely not the people being notified that their electricity bills will rise by 25%, nor are they the ones worried about losing their jobs. When promises remain confined to white papers, anger can only find other outlets.