The Pulse
AP-NORC Poll Finds 64% Say AI Is Moving Too Fast
An AP-NORC poll found that 64% of U.S. adults think AI is developing too quickly, including 76% of Democrats and 54% of Republicans. The survey also found broad support for government action to keep AI under human control and protect worker
AI.info Team · Written with AI ·
On October 8, the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research reported that 64% of U.S. adults think artificial intelligence is developing too quickly. Just 8% said it is moving too slowly, while 27% judged the pace about right, according to a poll conducted September 24–28.
Democrats and Republicans differ on the pace
Concern crosses party lines, but its intensity differs. Three-quarters of Democrats, 76%, said AI is developing too quickly, compared with 54% of Republicans, according to the AP-NORC findings. Adults under 30 were also more likely to express concern than those aged 60 and older.
The poll lands as AI companies expand their models and applications, while policymakers debate oversight and the effects on jobs. Its results measure public views, not whether AI development is objectively too fast. But they show a clear preference among respondents for safeguards: roughly eight in 10 adults said it was extremely or very important for the U.S. government to keep AI under human control and protect American workers.
Workers and control top the policy priorities
Broad agreement on those two goals holds across Democrats and Republicans, the research center said. Respondents also placed high importance on minimizing environmental harm and growing the U.S. economy. About half called promoting technological innovation a high priority, while somewhat fewer said the same about competing with countries such as China.
Job loss is a personal concern for Ron Theusch, a truck driver in rural Alden, Minnesota, whom the AP interviewed for its report. “I can just see a train of self-driving trucks 24/7, just running up and down I-35, loading and unloading. I can just see that happening,” Theusch said. His concern points to a direct tension in the poll’s findings: people want the economic benefits of AI, but many also want government to limit risks to workers.
Few trust either party to handle AI
Respondents gave neither major party a clear advantage on AI. Thirty-nine percent said they trust neither party to do a good job handling the issue; 23% said they trust Democrats more, and 21% favored Republicans. Another 17% said they trusted both equally or did not provide a preference. President Donald Trump’s handling of AI drew a 31% approval rating in the poll, while 67% disapproved.
Stephanie Stewart, a junior-high science teacher in Sunset, Utah, told the AP she was frustrated by Trump’s opposition to AI regulation. “There is no handling of the issue except for we’re just going to allow these companies to do whatever they want, and we’re not going to regulate them,” she said. Stewart also described using AI for work such as creating assignments and assisting with tests, while expressing concern about its effects on children.
The poll also tested AI’s role in the midterms
Despite the debate over AI’s public impact, relatively few adults said they had used or planned to use it for election information. Twenty-one percent said they had used or planned to use AI to learn about a candidate or an issue on the ballot. Twelve percent said they had used or planned to use it to find out how to vote, and 10% said the same about voter registration or deciding whom to support.
NORC conducted the survey online and by telephone with 2,140 adults drawn from its probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, designed to represent the U.S. population. The overall margin of sampling error was plus or minus 2.9 percentage points. The results offer a snapshot of public opinion—not a forecast of how voters will act—but they show that support for human oversight and worker protection is shared across party lines even as Americans remain divided over AI’s pace and the priorities government should set.