AI and Human Enhancement: Americans’ Openness Is Tempered by a Range of Concerns
Public views are tied to how these technologies would be used and what constraints would be in place.
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Public views are tied to how these technologies would be used and what constraints would be in place.
Trust in scientists and medical scientists has fallen below pre-pandemic levels, with 29% of U.S. adults saying they have a great deal of confidence in medical scientists to act in the best interests of the public. This is down from 40% in November 2020 and 35% in January 2019, before COVID-19 emerged. Other prominent groups – including the military, police officers and public school principals – have also seen their ratings decline.
While views of and experiences with police vary substantially across demographic groups, there is support for a number of police reforms.
Americans are closely divided over whether people convicted of crimes spend too much, too little or about the right amount of time in prison.
The U.S. murder rate rose 30% between 2019 and 2020 – the largest single-year increase in more than a century.
Amid mounting public concern about violent crime in the U.S., Americans’ attitudes about police funding in their own community have shifted.
The nationwide incarceration rate is 810 prison or jail inmates for every 100,000 adult residents ages 18 and older.
Here’s a closer look at public opinion on the death penalty, as well as key facts about the nation’s use of capital punishment.
Nearly eight-in-ten U.S. adults (78%) say there is some risk an innocent person will be put to death, and 63% say the death penalty does not deter people from committing serious crimes.
The number of federal prisoners sentenced to more than a year behind bars decreased by 5% between 2017 and the end of 2019.
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ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
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