Heartland Forward is committed to growing the economic success and regional competitiveness of the heartland, and in our modern economy, this means understanding and harnessing the power of artificial intelligence. 

As a result, Heartland Forward commissioned a recent poll to understand heartland respondents’ sentiments on artificial intelligence as this new technology becomes a more integral part of professional and personal life for many Americans. This poll was commissioned as a follow-on to a first-of-its-kind poll that was released by Heartland Forward during the summer of 2024, offering insights into how public sentiment has changed over the last year.

Additionally, one of Heartland Forward’s key initiatives in recent years has been the Connecting the Heartland program, which focuses on connecting as many heartland residents as possible to reliable high-speed internet. As we transition into a world that is heavily influenced by AI, it is critical to remember that AI can only be accessed and leveraged through high-speed internet. Therefore, Heartland Forward will use the findings from this and the previous poll to inform program development and drive action that will prime the heartland for success in this new technological era.

AI Poll – Key Findings

The poll—which surveyed 2,000 respondents across all 20 heartland states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin—found:

Our Work in AI

To help ensure heartland residents are exposed to and learn how to use AI, Heartland Forward announced a partnership with edtech company Stemuli to develop a learning platform that delivers geographically relevant, gamified AI training directly to rural students and entrepreneurs in the heartland to learn the AI skills they need to be best prepared for tomorrow’s AI economy. This gamified approach will help users learn skills like how to most effectively prompt large language models, how to most effectively leverage AI in the workplace and how AI can align with specific career paths. 

Heartland Forward is also hosting a series of Salon Dinners across the heartland to better understand community perspectives with state and local officials, investors, philanthropists, business and education leaders and beyond. 

Harnessing AI in the Heartland

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