Microsoft

In 1838, the invention of the camera sparked predictions that photography would make artists obsolete. When the noted French painter Paul Delaroche first saw an early photograph on a metal plate, he declared that “From today, painting is dead!” As he reasoned, why would anyone pay an artist to slowly and laboriously paint a scene when a camera could do the job more accurately, more quickly, and at a lower cost? This question has echoed through technological shifts and has resurfaced with intensity in recent weeks, as university students graduated on campuses across the United States.

More than 30 percent of the US working-age population is using AI, an increase of three percentage points from the end of 2025. But what does that number mean, and what lessons should we take from it? Microsoft released a new report that offers an in-depth look at AI adoption across the United States, allowing for the first time a state- and county-level review. On a national basis, the US leads the world in AI innovation but ranks just 21st in global AI adoption. Part of the reason for this gap is a clear and uneven pattern of AI adoption across the country.

Artificial intelligence is diffusing at an impressive speed, but its adoption around the world remains profoundly uneven. As Microsoft’s latest AI Diffusion Report shows, AI usage in the Global North is roughly twice that of the Global South. And this divide continues to widen.