Whether AI systems are perceived to have subjective experience has scientific, ethical, and governance implications. Yet little is known about how AI researchers and the public view this possibility. We surveyed 582 AI researchers who published in leading AI venues and 825 nationally representative US adults about the likelihood, identification, and governance of AI systems with subjective experience. We find that both AI researchers and the public think it is unlikely that AI systems have subjective experience now, but believe it is more likely than not they will by century's end. Both groups believe multidisciplinary expertise will be important in identifying AI subjective experience, support developers implementing safeguards now, and agree that, if created, subjectively experiencing AI systems should have moral responsibilities and be held accountable. Both groups also show substantial disagreement on many moral and policy questions. Our results underline the importance of building more detailed, evidence-based understanding of public and expert opinion on this contentious issue.

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