A majority of Australians now want homegrown laws to govern Artificial intelligence rather than relying on an international framework, new polling reveals, as community opposition to the nation's multibillion-dollar data centre construction boom continues to rise alongside concerns about power prices and environmental damage.

The Resolve Political Monitor, which surveyed 2,200 people, found overall support for AI regulation has climbed from 72 per cent in 2023 to 81 per cent today. Crucially, the balance of opinion on who should regulate has shifted: 41 per cent now favour Australian-designed laws, overtaking those who prefer an international approach, which sits at 40 per cent. Three years ago, international regulation was the clear preference, backed by 44 per cent compared with just 29 per cent who wanted local rules.

A Nation Divided on AI's Promise and Peril

Usage of AI tools has surged sharply since 2023, when just 31 per cent of Australians said they had used the technology. That figure has now climbed to two-thirds of all respondents, with one in four saying they use AI daily.

Younger Australians are driving adoption, with 87 per cent of those aged 18 to 34 having used AI. Even among Australians aged 55 and over, nearly half have tried it. But the polling reveals a clear gap in attitudes between users and non-users.

  • Among regular users, 23 per cent said AI posed a danger to mankind and society.
  • Among non-users, that concern rose sharply to 60 per cent.
  • Fifty-four per cent of regular users believed the benefits outweighed the risks, compared with just 26 per cent of non-users.
  • Seventeen per cent of regular users saw AI as posing minimal risks and delivering revolutionary benefits. Only 2 per cent of non-users agreed.

Resolve pollster Jim Reed said the results pointed to a population that was broadly sanguine about AI's effect on their own employment but increasingly alarmed about its broader consequences. "Less than one in five think it is a danger to their job or wages," Reed said. "However, more than a third think it is a real danger to mankind. No wonder around six in 10 think AI development should at least be slowed or paused, if not given the boot altogether."

The polling found just 20 per cent of respondents believed AI regulation should continue at its current pace. Thirty-one per cent said it should slow, 10 per cent called for a temporary pause, and 18 per cent said development should stop completely.

Data Centres: A Flashpoint in Communities

The data centre construction pipeline has emerged as one of the most contested fronts in the AI debate. Economists at Westpac have estimated that new facilities worth $155 billion, representing more than 5 per cent of GDP, are already in the nation's construction pipeline. Separate analysis has warned that if developers fail to build dedicated energy sources for these facilities, power prices could rise by as much as $50 billion over the next six years.

Public opinion on data centres is evenly and deeply divided. The poll found 32 per cent supported building them in Australia, 33 per cent opposed them, and 35 per cent remained unsure. A pronounced age gap was evident: 42 per cent of 18-to-34-year-olds backed data centres, compared with just 22 per cent of those over 55. Half of regular AI users supported the infrastructure, reflecting a broader pattern in which hands-on experience with the technology tends to soften concern about its costs.

For more on the scrutiny facing this sector, see our coverage of Australia's data centre boom coming under harsh scrutiny.

What Comes Next

A joint House-Senate select committee is examining AI's impact on jobs, productivity, copyright and workers' rights, with a report due to the government by the end of next month. Its findings will land at a time when public pressure for stronger, locally designed oversight is clearly mounting.

Proponents of the technology continue to argue AI will unleash productivity gains comparable to the arrival of the personal computer or electricity. Critics, however, point to a growing list of concerns spanning job displacement, rising energy and water demand, and the technology's contribution to higher borrowing costs on government debt. The polling suggests those concerns are no longer the preserve of a cautious minority.