How the Heartland Feels About This New Technology and What it Means for The Future
In November of 2022, OpenAI released ChatGPT as a “research preview” of the company’s large language model (LLM). In the five days following that release, the site attracted over one million users foreshadowing the intense societal focus that would build around AI in the coming years.
While ChatGPT wasn’t the first widely used AI tool it was the first one that felt highly accessible to the general public. The advent of LLMs felt different—AI at one’s fingertips. Since the emergence of LLMs not that long ago, AI has dominated social, political and private sector dialogues with the potential to reshape nearly every corner of the economy and day-to-day life.
Given the precipice of change upon which society teeters, Heartland Forward has sought to understand how heartland communities are feeling about the changes AI stands to bring. As part of that effort, Heartland Forward commissioned two polls using Aaru, a predictive modeling company that applies AI advanced language systems to conduct sentiment analysis – or put more simply, Aaru uses advanced AI tools to conduct predictive polling. Heartland Forward partnered with Aaru in June of 2024 and again in April of this year to measure any change in sentiment (or lack thereof) during that time.
The June 2024 poll was originally commissioned to get a sense of how heartland respondents felt about AI given its emerging prominence at the time. The poll’s findings were primarily that respondents felt nervous about AI—uncertain about how it would be used, unsure if they wanted to learn more and apprehensive about how AI would change work and daily life in the years to come. The poll also revealed, however, that when discussing explicit applications of AI—whether the technology stood to make positive impacts in sectors like manufacturing, agriculture, health care, education and so forth—respondents started to become hopeful about the changes AI could bring.
Table Talk: The Heartland AI Salon Series
The data from the 2024 poll inspired Heartland Forward to curate a series of salon dinners across the heartland on artificial intelligence to hear directly from communities preparing for its impact. Each dinner has been a sitdown discussion among local leaders from business, education, public service, health care, agriculture, finance, entertainment and other sectors—diving into how each community can and should come together to invest in the future of AI.
To date, Heartland Forward has hosted five salon dinners, each with a co-convening regional partner, building conversations tailored to the local community and economy. These dinners have taken place in Nashville, Tenn.; Fargo, N.D.; Tulsa, Okla.; Montgomery, Ala. and Baton Rouge, La. each offering unique perspectives, but all with consistent themes around the need for education, community action and smart policy to safeguard AI’s adoption while also ensuring each region is fully positioned to harness the power of AI in the years to come.
“We curated these salon dinners because we want to hear directly from our heartland states on how they are engaging with AI,” says Angie Cooper, President and Chief Operating Officer at Heartland Forward. “The insights that we’ve gained offer real direction into what’s needed to ensure each community is set up to leverage AI to the greatest extent possible and how Heartland Forward can help in that work.”
In response to the Baton Rouge dinner, Executive Director of the Louisiana Office of Broadband Development and Connectivity, Veneeth Iyengar, said: “I’m focused on ensuring every Louisianan has access to high-speed internet, as it’s the most important economic tool of our time for everything from hiring to employment, health care to education. We know that AI will be a huge part of our work going forward, and conversations like the Baton Rouge salon dinner are critical to ensuring we meet the needs of our constituents in this new AI-driven era.”
Heartland Opinion Shifts as AI Interest Nearly Doubles
As the salon dinner series progressed, it became evident that sentiments about AI might be shifting across the heartland, perhaps driven by AI’s continued prominence and societal dominance throughout 2024 and into 2025. Therefore, in April of this year, Heartland Forward commissioned the second poll with Aaru intended to assess any changes in awareness, understanding of and attitudes about AI across the 20 heartland states, which yielded intriguing insights.
In less than a year, the American heartland has witnessed a significant shift in public sentiment toward artificial intelligence. As Aaru polling demonstrated
- In June of 2024, only 34.4% of respondents expressed any interest in learning more about AI.
- By April 2025, that figure had increased to 68.9%, representing a 100% increase in less than a year.
This change signals more than just a passing curiosity, but rather points to a region beginning to grapple with the reality that AI will play a central role in its economic future.
The results additionally indicate that adults aged 35–44 lead the charge—with over three in four reporting at least moderate interest in learning about AI—representing a key demographic for AI-related workforce upskilling and development. This group’s enthusiasm is particularly noteworthy for future regional economic growth, as they are positioned in the workforce at a time when understanding AI will be critical.
However, enthusiasm drops significantly among older adults, with nearly 40% of respondents aged 65+ actively expressing disinterest in AI. This disparity between younger and older generations highlights an urgent need for targeted educational efforts that can help bridge the generational divide and create an AI-driven future for all ages.
Workforce Worries and a Widespread Call for Training
Even as interest in AI grows, many heartland workers remain unsure of how AI will actually impact their jobs and career prospects.
- Over 50% of respondents to the 2025 Aaru poll report low understanding of how to use AI professionally
- Less than 1% feel highly proficient in how to use AI tools.
- Over half (56%) of respondents report anxiety about AI in the workplace—with states like Mississippi and Kentucky showing even higher concern.
At the same time, the 2025 results highlight that states like Texas offer a more optimistic outlook, with nearly 40% of respondents there expressing excitement about AI’s potential, particularly in sectors like agriculture and manufacturing. This optimism is likely driven by familiarity with AI tools, their perceived benefits and AI’s potential to increase productivity and efficiency. This contrast between anxiety and excitement suggests that a key challenge across the heartland will be ensuring that workers feel empowered by AI rather than threatened. Clear communication from elected officials, industry leaders and academics, as well as targeted, industry-specific AI training will be essential to helping workers understand how to use AI as a tool to improve their productivity, rather than fear AI as a driver for job displacement.
Critically, over 71% of respondents believe employers should offer training on how to use AI tools—up from 56% just ten months ago. This desire for training spans all education levels—from those without a diploma to those with doctorates, reflecting a realization that AI is no longer a distant technological development, but an immediate necessity for professionals across industries.
Public Support for Education and Regulation Runs Deep
Beyond individual learning, the 2025 results indicate there is broad public support for government and employer involvement in AI education. Nearly 80% of heartland residents agree that the government should provide resources to help people better understand and use AI, with Illinois (86%) and Kentucky (83%) leading the way. This widespread backing for government-led initiatives indicates a shared sense of responsibility to prepare the workforce for the AI revolution. It also points to a significant opportunity for policymakers to invest in educational programs and public awareness campaigns that can equip people across the region with the knowledge they need to effectively engage with and harness the power of AI.
As Aaru data additionally highlights, support is especially high among those with advanced degrees, reinforcing the importance of integrating AI education into workforce strategies and public policy. This suggests that individuals who have already experienced the benefits of education are particularly invested in ensuring that the broader population has access to AI literacy programs given their perceived, or directly experienced, benefits. Policy officials, therefore, have an opportunity to harness this enthusiasm and build comprehensive, region-wide strategies to foster AI learning opportunities across all education levels.
However, the 2025 results also indicate when it comes to trust, the public remains skeptical about AI—especially in sensitive areas like health care, where just 25.1% trust AI to provide accurate health-related information.
This highlights the need for more transparency and accountability from industry in AI’s applications, particularly in fields that directly impact people’s lives, and is a motivating factor for states like Indiana, Illinois and Tennessee, all of which took action this legislative session to restrict the use of AI as being the sole determinant in reviewing medical claims.
A Region Ready and Willing to Harness the Power of AI
Despite growing interest and cautious optimism concerning AI, a deep perception gap in preparedness and resourcing remains. According to the 2025 Aaru poll, around 60–65% of heartland respondents do not feel that their state is as prepared for AI as tech-forward states like California or New York. This sentiment is especially consistent among working-age adults, underscoring an urgent need for investment in local training and infrastructure.
While salon dinner attendees echoed the need for resourcing and education, they also discussed their excitement around AI— how local organizations and entities are already deploying the technology and what an AI-driven future could mean for their communities in the coming years.
This is underscored by the finding that most heartland respondents see the potential for AI to make positive contributions to a range of specific sectors:
- Manufacturing (81.5%)
- Finance (79.9%)
- Mental health care (78.3%)
- Education (72.6%)
These numbers held firm from June of 2024, illustrating the public’s belief in AI to drive positive, sector-specific change is consistent, thus far.
One of the more surprising, and novel, insights from Aaru’s 2025 results is that nearly two-thirds (62.2%) of heartland respondents believe AI could help people feel less lonely, suggesting a growing recognition of AI’s potential not just for economic impact, but also for social and emotional support.
Over the past 10 months, the heartland has been awakening to the reality of AI. A region once marked by hesitation is now showing a hunger for information, training and support. Interest in AI is rising fast, especially among key workforce demographics, pointing to a region both ready and willing to embrace this new age.
To capitalize on this effectively, it will require access to consistent educational opportunities, mobilizing effective public policy, employer support and regional investment. The way forward now lies in closing knowledge and infrastructure gaps to ensure the heartland is not just catching up, but leading the way in harnessing the power of responsible AI adoption.
Additional coverage of the 2025 poll and exciting AI-centric work by Heartland Forward can be found below. Stay tuned for more about the heartland harnessing the power of A!:
- Talk Business and Politics: Heartland Forward poll: Respondents unsure how to use AI professionally
- Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Heartland Forward promoting AI education
- Interview with Kyle Kellams at KUAF (14:40-22:38).
Learn more about Heartland Forward’s AI-centric work with ed-tech partner, Stemuli