More than half of U.S. adults trust law enforcement to use facial recognition responsibly

A majority of Americans trust law enforcement to use facial recognition responsibly. But the public is less accepting of this technology when it is used by advertisers and technology companies. Americans differ by age, party and race and ethnicity in their views about the issue. 

The challenges of using machine learning to identify gender in images

Image recognition systems that use artificial intelligence to recognize and classify human subjects have become increasingly widespread. In designing a deep learning system to identify men and women in digital images, our Data Labs team learned firsthand the difficulties of understanding how these systems work and how to improve them.

• Interactive: See if you can identify the features that make a computer determine whether an image shows a man or a woman

About one-in-five U.S. adults know someone who goes by a gender-neutral pronoun

As the experiences of people who don’t identify as a man or a woman have gained attention, a majority of Americans say they have heard at least a little about the use of gender-neutral pronouns. And about one-in-five say they personally know someone who prefers to go by such pronouns.

Democrats more supportive than Republicans of federal spending for scientific research

The partisan gap in Americans’ views of government spending for scientific research has grown over the long term. In 2001, there was no significant divide between the parties on this issue. This year, 62% of Democrats support increased spending for scientific research, compared with 40% of Republicans.

Why survey estimates of the number of Americans online don’t always agree

How many U.S. adults use the internet? This might seem like a straightforward question, with a straightforward way to find out: Just ask. But while there is a lot of high-quality survey data available, different organizations measure internet use in ways that can be tricky to reconcile.

Republicans have confidence in presidential appointees, Democrats trust career government employees

The deep differences between Republicans and Democrats when it comes to the federal government go beyond policy. Partisans have markedly different levels of confidence when it comes to the type of personnel who hold government jobs — presidential appointees or career employees.

A look at U.S. public opinion on climate change

Ten Democratic presidential candidates participated in town hall events focusing on climate change this week. But how does the U.S. public view the issue?
 
Today, roughly six-in-ten Americans (57%) say global climate change is a major threat to the well-being of the U.S., up from 40% in 2013. But there is a wide partisan divide in these views: 84% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents see climate change as a major threat, compared with 27% of Republicans and GOP leaners.
 
In a separate survey in 2018, around six-in-ten Americans (59%) said they see at least some effect of climate change in their local community, with Democrats and Republicans again sharply divided. Those living near a coastline were particularly likely to see a local impact from climate change. You can read more about Americans’ views on climate change in our recent roundup.

(Photo by David Silverman/Getty Images)