AP-NORC finds 64% of US adults think AI is developing too quickly, and 31% approve of how Trump is dealing with it
Eight in 10 want the government to put workers and human control first, and 39% say neither party can be trusted on AI.
The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released a poll on 8 October finding that 64% of US adults think AI is developing too quickly, including 76% of Democrats and 54% of Republicans. Only 8% think it is developing too slowly.
On priorities, the release says: “Eight in 10 think the U.S. government should prioritize protecting U.S. workers and keeping AI under human control.” On politics: “Thirty-one percent of adults approve of how President Trump is dealing with AI.” And: “Thirty-nine percent say neither party can be trusted to do a good job.”
The poll was conducted from 24 to 28 September 2026 among 2,140 adults on NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.
It lands a day after the Reuters/Ipsos poll we ran on 8 October, in which 57% of registered voters said the administration was not taking AI risks seriously enough. The two surveys ask different questions of different samples, but both find majorities uneasy with the pace and handling of AI four weeks before the midterms, and on the same day the White House staged its science summit built around AI.
- Confirmed 64% of US adults say AI is developing too quickly (76% of Democrats, 54% of Republicans); 8% say too slowly. AP-NORC
- Confirmed 31% approve of how President Trump is dealing with AI; 39% say neither party can be trusted to do a good job. AP-NORC
- Confirmed The poll surveyed 2,140 adults from 24 to 28 September, with a margin of error of ±2.9 points. AP-NORC
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