A little over four in 10 young voting-age adults are in favor of giving artificial intelligence broad government powers, according to a recently released survey.

The Heartland Institute’s Glenn C. Haskins Emerging Issues Center and Rasmussen Reports announced on Wednesday the findings of a poll taken of 1,496 likely voters aged 18-39 with a margin of sampling error of +/- 3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

According to the study’s findings, 41% of respondents said they support giving “an advanced AI system authority to control public policymaking decisions.”

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This sizable minority in favor of AI controlling policy decisions included 55% who self-identified as conservatives and 54% of respondents between the ages of 25-29.

Additionally, according to researchers, 36% of respondents supported a proposal that gives AI control over “rights that belong to individuals and families, including rights related to speech, religious practices, government authority, and property.”

Thirty-five percent of respondents supported giving “an advanced AI system the authority to control all of the world’s largest militaries, with the express purpose of reducing the number of people who die from war.” Among those aged 18-24, 40% supported this idea.

“These results are stunning,” stated Heartland researchers, as quoted in the announcement. “What we are seeing is the early emergence of an AI strong man mentality among younger Americans.”

“Younger generations are increasingly disillusioned with the failures of traditional institutions, so much so, that they are willing to hand control to artificial intelligence.” READ MORE