Decentralized AI Gains Popularity Among Americans, Says DCG Poll
Majority of Americans See Decentralized AI as More Beneficial, Poll Finds
A recent Harris Poll commissioned by crypto investment firm Digital Currency Group (DCG) reveals that a strong majority of Americans favor decentralized artificial intelligence (AI) over centralized systems. Of the 2,036 U.S. adults surveyed, 77% believe decentralized AI is more beneficial to society, while 56% said they explicitly support its development.
The poll, released on May 29, also found that nearly 75% of respondents view decentralized AI as better suited to drive innovation and societal progress than its centralized counterpart.
“Three-quarters of Americans agree that the transformative power of AI would benefit more people if it wasn’t consolidated in the hands of a few major players,” said Julie Stitzel, vice president of policy at DCG.
Concerns about centralized AI were also evident in the results:
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67% of respondents said centralized AI systems are more likely to be biased.
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63% believe they primarily serve Big Tech interests rather than the average person and are more prone to misuse user data.
Growing Momentum Behind Decentralized AI
Industry leaders and experts continue to advocate for decentralized AI as a way to reduce Big Tech’s dominance and promote equitable access.
Chris Miglino, co-founder and CEO of DNA Fund, suggested that decentralized AI could potentially become even more influential than Bitcoin.
Ben Goertzel, founder and CEO of SingularityNET, has long championed the concept. He noted that the idea of decentralized AI dates back to the 1990s and emphasized that for artificial general intelligence (AGI) to truly benefit humanity, it must be decentralized from the start.
The decentralized AI movement is also seeing active development. On May 5, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino announced plans for a new AI platform that will include integrated support for USDT and BTC payments. Earlier this month, Thinkagents.ai launched an open-source framework for building autonomous AI agents across decentralized networks — a protocol already adopted by over 70 crypto firms, including Yuga Labs and Magic Eden.