Governing with Artificial Intelligence: Use, Ideology, and the Benefits and Risks of AI in State Government

Artificial intelligence is increasingly entering government institutions, yet we know relatively little about how government professionals evaluate its potential benefits and risks or how these attitudes relate to organizational adoption. This study uses an original survey of individuals with experience in U.S. state government to examine the technological, political, and institutional correlates of attitudes toward governmental AI. The results reveal a striking asymmetry. Frequency of AI use strongly predicts perceived benefits: respondents who use AI more frequently report substantially greater confidence in its potential governmental utility, even after accounting for AI familiarity, political ideology, government experience, and office size. Political ideology, by contrast, is the dominant predictor of perceived risk. More conservative respondents perceive significantly lower AI-related risks, while the association between AI use and risk perceptions becomes nonsignificant after ideology is introduced.