ChatGPT's debut in November 2022 caused a near-instant sensation. It gave most users their first opportunity to try out a new type of artificial intelligence that uses existing data and published materials to create content known as generative AI.
Once the initial buzz faded, economists were eager to find out who was using the technology and how often, what they were doing with it, and whether they used it at work, at home, or both. How quickly and robustly the public adopts a technology is widely thought to predict its economic impact.
As of August, nearly 40% of U.S. adults aged 18–64 had used generative AI, according to new survey research. Of those employed, 28% used it at work, while nearly 33% used it away from work. That pickup rate is significantly faster than the public embrace of the internet (20% after two years) or the personal computer (20% after three years, the earliest researchers could measure).
The Gazette spoke with David J. Deming, the Isabelle and Scott Black Professor of Political Economy at Harvard Kennedy School, and professor of economics and education at Harvard Graduate of Education, about what he and co-authors Alexander Bick, an economic policy adviser at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, and Adam Blandin, assistant economic professor at Vanderbilt University, found and what it could mean for business. The interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Why is it important to measure how quickly Americans have embraced generative AI tools like ChatGPT relative to PCs and the internet?
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