The Coming AI Backlash: How the Anger Economy Will Supercharge Populism (www.foreignaffairs.com)

AI-driven layoffs are already underway at major firms and corporations broadly plan to use AI to reshape workforces. To probe how voters want governments to respond, researchers surveyed 6,000 Americans and Canadians using an experimental design of 81 hypothetical shock scenarios (varying job losses, job creation, and price effects) tied to either AI adoption or offshoring. Across parties and countries, retraining programs were the top choice (average support ~4/5), followed by AI regulation and expanded social supports. But substantial backing also exists for protectionist fixes: immigration restrictions averaged 3.4/5 overall (4.0 among U.S. Republicans) and trade barriers averaged ~3.2, signaling popular appetite for nativist responses. This matters because political reactions will shape the trajectory of AI adoption and its economic consequences. Protectionist moves are politically easier and deliver rapid, visible results, yet economic research suggests tariffs and immigration curbs can raise input and labor costs and thereby accelerate automation—worsening layoffs and entrenching populist politics. Policymakers face a time-inconsistency trap: promises to compensate losers often evaporate once technologies are locked in. The study implies urgent action: scale retraining, expand safety nets, enact transparency, human‑oversight and liability rules for high‑stakes AI, and consider taxing large AI beneficiaries to fund adjustments—steps that align public preferences with interventions that blunt both economic harm and the populist backlash.