The U.S. military should not allow AI to control weapons without human oversight
Democrats84%
Republicans77%
Independents84%
Source: The Economist/YouGov, Jun. 16, 2026
Chart: Americans Agree
Chart: Americans Agree
AI-autonomous-weapons
The Economist/YouGov, Jun. 16, 2026
Details
| Question | Should the U.S. military allow AI to control weapons without human oversight? |
| Response | No |
| Poll Main Page | The Economist/YouGov Poll, June 13 - 15, 2026 |
| Interview Period | Jun. 13, 2026 to Jun. 15, 2026 |
| Sample Size | 1,549 |
| Policy Context | When this poll was conducted in June 2026, the Trump administration had earlier in the year been in a dispute with the AI company Anthropic over whether its Claude AI could be used by the military to autonomously target enemy combatants. The administration cancelled its contract with Anthropic and deemed the company a “supply chain risk” because Anthropic refused to allow use of Claude for autonomous targeting of enemy combatants or mass surveillance of U.S. citizens. |
| Insight |