New Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for Policies Preventing AI Discrimination and Bias

Center for Civil Rights and Technology News 07.16.26

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75% of respondents support making companies prove their AI decision-making systems do not discriminate

Leadership Conference to Democratic AI Commission: Pass civil rights-protective, comprehensive AI legislation

WASHINGTON — The Leadership Conference’s Center for Civil Rights and Technology released new polling of 1000 adults nationwide, in partnership with Voss Research and Strategies, finding that the vast majority of respondents support policy protections against AI bias and discrimination. The polling examined people’s support of policies around the use of AI decision-making systems for jobs, loans, and housing.

Specifically, the survey found that across demographics — gender, generation, race, education, political party — and attitudes on AI:

  • 75% of respondents support requiring companies that use AI for decisions about jobs, loans, and housing to prove that their AI systems do not discriminate based on race, gender, or disability.
  • 73% support preventing uses of AI that would discriminate based on income, race, or gender.
  • 66% support testing AI systems for racial and gender bias before they can be used in hiring, housing, and lending decisions.

“These results make it crystal clear – an overwhelming majority of the American public demand protections that ensure AI is fair for everyone. People across the country, across races, and across political views all agree that discrimination is not innovation. Even folks that largely believe AI will help their lives want legal safeguards that prevent bias, especially when it comes to consequential decision-making. Policymakers must catch up to the people they represent and pass a national AI standard that meaningfully and explicitly protects our civil rights,” said Alejandra Montoya-Boyer, vice president of The Leadership Conference’s Center for Civil Rights and Technology.

This polling accompanies a letter that The Leadership Conference led today to the Democratic AI Commission calling for comprehensive federal AI legislation that includes “meaningful safeguards (mandatory bias testing, privacy and data protections, and strong enforcement and remedies), the codifying of disparate impact liability, and the exclusion of any preemption language.” Access Now, AFL-CIO, AFL-CIO Tech Institute, AFSCME, AFT, Americans for Responsible Innovation, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, Center for Democracy & Technology, Color Of Change, Data & Society, Demand Progress Action, Fight for the Future, Hispanic Federation, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Media Access Project, National Action Network, National Action Network, National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients), National Disability Rights Network (NDRN), National Fair Housing Alliance, National Hispanic Media Coalition, National Urban League, National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, Open MIC (Open Media and Information Companies Initiative), Public Citizen, Southern Poverty Law Center, The Trevor Project, UnidosUS, and United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry joined The Leadership Conference as letter signers.

The polling and letter follows a new report from the Center demonstrating the impact AI has on the racial wealth gap between white communities and communities of color, particularly Black communities, specifically when it comes to AI-decisionmaking systems used in housing (rentals and home ownership) and jobs. The report found that with policy safeguards and corporate governance that AI could help narrow the racial wealth gap. If the status quo persists and AI remains unchecked, however, AI will continue to grow the divide that Black communities face with their financial security and growth.

This online survey was conducted May 13-20, 2026, of 1000 adults nationwide with oversamples of 100 Black adults, 100 Latino/a adults, 100 Asian American Pacific Islander adults, and 100 Indigenous adults. The overall survey error is +/-3.1% at the 95% confidence interval and is higher for subgroups.

The survey’s memo, crosstabs, toplines, and today’s letter are accessible at the respective links.

The Center for Civil Rights and Technology (Center) is a joint project of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and The Leadership Conference Education Fund. The Center, launched in September 2023, serves as a one-of-its-kind hub for advocacy, education, and research at the intersection of civil rights and technology. 

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 240 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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