New Delhi, Aug. 27 -- Advances in ARTIFICIAL intelligence have long terrified techies. Lately, voters are feeling the angst, too. AI is unpopular in the West and climbing up the political agenda. The fiercest fights so far have been in America, where protests against data centres have scuppered nearly $100bn-worth of projects, warring AI megadonors have just dumped tens of millions into a Manhattan congressional race and around 40% of voters tell pollsters that they want AI banned from most industries. But spats are breaking out elsewhere: after chipmaking profits soared recently, workers at Samsung in South Korea threatened a strike to secure special payouts.

The backlash is only just getting started, because the technology is only just...