📊 The use of generative AI is growing faster than computers and the internet

• Generative AI is used by 39.4 percent of Americans aged 18-64, just two years after its introduction.
• This is a significantly faster growth compared to personal computers and the internet in their early years.
• Widespread use across various professions shows that generative AI is a general technology with potentially large impact.

A new study shows that generative AI is growing much faster than previous groundbreaking technologies. The survey, which is the first nationally representative study on the use of generative AI in the US, shows that 39.4 percent of the population aged 18-64 used the technology in August 2024. This is less than two years after ChatGPT, one of the first major generative AI models, was launched to the public.

In comparison, it took three years for personal computers to reach a usage rate of 20 percent, and two years for the internet to reach the same level. This indicates that generative AI has a significantly faster adoption rate in society.

Both at work and at home

In the workplace, 28 percent of employees reported using generative AI, with 24.1 percent using it at least once a week and 10.9 percent using it daily. Usage outside of work was even more widespread, with 32.7 percent reporting use at home.

The study also reveals that generative AI is used widely across different professional groups. While nearly half of workers in data, mathematics, and management use the technology, even a quarter of workers in traditional blue-collar jobs report usage. This suggests that generative AI is a general technology with the potential to affect many different sectors of the economy.

ChatGPT continues to be the most popular generative AI product, with 28.5 percent of respondents reporting use.

Already impacting productivity

Researchers estimate that between 0.5 and 3.5 percent of all work hours in the US are currently assisted by generative AI. This suggests that the technology is already having a measurable impact on labor productivity, despite still being in an early stage of growth.

The rapid and widespread use of generative AI suggests that this technology could have a significant impact on the labor market and the economy at large in the coming years. Continued studies will be crucial to understand the long-term effects of this rapidly growing technology.

Also read The Angry Optimist on AI and the bubble warning:

🦾 Keep calm, AI is not a bubble

The stock market went down, panic arose and the pessimists proclaimed in panic: The AI bubble is bursting. That is nonsense.

Warp NewsMathias Sundin

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