The current revolution in generative artificial intelligence (AI) is throwing off vast amounts of real-time data and with it the ability to analyse almost instantly what is going on. Anthropic, creator of the Claude AI, publishes a regular Economic Index report tracking use of its tools. As a market leader, Claude is probably a good proxy for trends in AI as a whole. The latest report shows how its AI is being used in more than 150 countries. The US dominates, with 21.6% of all Claude usage, way ahead of India, 7.2%, and Brazil, Japan and South Korea on 3.7%.
The UK accounts for 3.2%. Anthropic also ranks countries by their usage relative to working age population. Israel is top, then Singapore. The US is sixth and the UK 12th. How Claude is used also differs significantly. In high-usage countries, workers deploy Claude to “augment” existing skills and become more productive. In countries with low use, automating routine tasks, such as coding, is more typical – and more likely to result in job losses. If these trends continue, an “AI divide” will widen between richer, more advanced countries and the rest. Given the rate of AI growth, this would arguably be far more consequential for jobs than earlier versions of the digital divide, which were themselves significant sources of widening economic inequality.
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