FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
At its Georgetown Law summit, EqualAI released its first national survey on AI and public trust, finding bipartisan demand for the ability to correct and appeal AI decisions and for outside verification of the systems making them.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2026, EqualAI released its first national polling on AI and public trust at its “Preparing America for the AI Economy” summit at Georgetown University Law Center yesterday, finding that 63% of Americans want independent scientific review of AI systems and 60% want third-party audits, while just 44% are moved by positive press and 45% by government review. The data landed the week AI moved to the center of the national debate, after leaders in Washington rejected calls to pause AI development and figures inside the AI industry warned Congress of significant risks.
The survey found that the public’s demand for outside verification runs deeper than any single trust signal: 46% are uncomfortable with a company using AI in a way that involves them regardless of the safeguards in place. A company explaining how it tested its own systems moves just 55%, below both independent review and audits.
Americans also want recourse when AI gets things wrong, and they want it across party lines. Sixty-eight percent say the ability to correct wrong information about them is essential, and 65% say the same about the ability to appeal an AI-driven decision, with both figures holding across party lines.
“People are telling us that trust requires proof, independent verification, and a real way to challenge decisions AI makes about them” said Miriam Vogel, President and CEO of EqualAI. ” We need clarity and alignment on how these systems are tested, questioned, and held accountable, and that need only grows more urgent as AI moves faster.
EqualAI convened members of Congress, frontier AI labs, enterprise deployers, journalists, civil society and academics across an afternoon program on AI and the newsroom, workforce readiness, and governance across the enterprise. Congressman Ted Lieu (CA-36) spoke on writing the rules for AI. Vogel led fireside conversations with Sal Khan, founder and CEO of Khan Academy, on AI in education, and Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, on AI literacy and the future of information. Panelists included Tom Lue of Google DeepMind, Terah Lyons of JPMorganChase, Carla Eid of PepsiCo, Taylor Stockton of the U.S. Department of Labor, Vivian Schiller of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, and Dr. Battinto Batts of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and expert moderation from Rachel Martin of NPR and Stefan Weitz of HumanX. Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) addressed the closing reception focused on his role as member of the House Judiciary Committee and ranking member—and former chair—of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet.
About EqualAI
EqualAI is a U.S.-based nonprofit founded in 2018 that builds trust in AI through governance, literacy, and community. Led by Miriam Vogel, former Chair of the National AI Advisory Committee, EqualAI helps companies, policymakers, and institutions implement AI governance frameworks and convenes leaders across industry, government, academia, and civil society. Its programs include the EqualAI Badge certification, the EqualAI Summit, the Congressional AI Policy Workshop, and the AI Literacy Initiative.
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