Who uses AI?
AI is suddenly everywhere. Image generators and large language models are at the heart of new startups, powering features in our favorite apps and — perhaps more importantly — sparking conversations not just in the tech world, but society at large. There are many concerns about cheating in schools with ChatGPT, being fooled by AI-generated images and artists being scammed or even replaced outright.
But despite the widespread coverage, the use of these new tools is still quite limited, at least when it comes to dedicated AI products. And experience with these tools definitely leans towards younger users.
Most people have heard of ChatGPT. Bing and Bard? Not quite.
| Tool | I used it | I have heard of it | I’ve never heard of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | 20% | 37% | 43% |
| Bing with ChatGPT | 12% | 34% | 54% |
| My AI (Snapchat) | 12% | 33% | 55% |
| Bard (by Google) | 10% | 28% | 62% |
| Half way through the journey | 7% | 18% | 75% |
| Stable spread | 6% | 17% | 77% |
Only 1 in 3 people have tried one of these AI-powered tools, and most are unfamiliar with the companies and startups that make them. Despite the many insurgents in the world of AI, such as Stability AI and Midjourney, it is still the work of Big Tech that is substantially driving the conversation. OpenAI is the big exception, but probably thanks to its market cap and deals with Microsoft, it is now a member of the corpo club itself.
AI use is dominated by Millennials and Gen Z
| Boomers: 4.8 million | Generation X: 15.8 million | Millennial: 36 million | Generation Z: 34.9 million |
However, a complicating factor is that the definition of an AI tool is extremely vague. We asked respondents about dedicated AI services such as ChatGPT or Midjourney. But many companies are adding AI features to established software, whether that’s image generation in Photoshop or text suggestion in Gmail and Google Docs. And as the joke goes, AI is everything computers haven’t done yet, meaning yesterday’s AI is simply today’s expected features.
Despite the limited use of these tools to date, people have high hopes for AI’s impact on the world – alongside that of other emerging (and sometimes controversial) technologies. Nearly three-quarters of people said AI will have a major or moderate impact on society. That’s compared to 69 percent for EVs and a paltry 34 percent for NFTs. They are So 2021.
Will these technologies have a major impact on society?
| AI | Electric vehicles | Virtual reality | AR | NFTs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High/moderate impact | 74% | 69% | 60% | 52% | 34% |
