- Nov 11
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 1
Hello, AI Enthusiasts.
Starting the week with your inbox overflowing? AI has already done its part.
Microsoft’s first AI Diffusion Report paints a world moving at different speeds: 1.2 billion people have tried AI in under three years, but not everyone has the connectivity, skills, or infrastructure to join the race.
Meanwhile, California is taking a hard look at safety, rolling out new rules to protect kids from AI-powered chatbots, deepfakes, and online risks.
And for anyone ready to experiment, Google Maps’ Builder agent turns a single sentence into a live, interactive map, making prototyping faster and more accessible than ever.
Week’s underway, and there’s plenty to keep your curiosity busy.
Here's another crazy day in AI:
Understanding global diffusion patterns
New California laws protect children from AI risks
Google Maps launches AI tool for instant map prototypes
Some AI tools to try out
TODAY'S FEATURED ITEM: Microsoft's New Global Intelligence Report
Image Credit: Wowza (created with Ideogram)
How did AI reach over a billion users faster than any technology in history, yet still leave half the world behind?
Microsoft's first AI Diffusion Report takes a wide-angle view of how artificial intelligence is spreading across countries, industries, and communities. Drawing from data in over 100 nations, the report examines who is leading in AI innovation, who has the infrastructure to scale it, and who is actually putting it to use. Published by Microsoft's AI Economy Institute, the study finds that more than 1.2 billion people have used AI tools in under three years—faster than any other major technology in history. But as adoption accelerates, it also reveals a widening gap between regions with the means to participate and those still lacking the foundations to join in.
The report introduces three indices—the AI Frontier Index, AI Infrastructure Index, and AI Diffusion Index—that together paint a picture of a world moving at different speeds. From model builders at the frontier to everyday users, the findings show that access to electricity, connectivity, and digital skills continues to determine who benefits most from technological change.
Findings from the Report:
AI reached 1.2 billion users in less than three years, becoming the fastest-adopted technology in history.
AI use in the Global North is nearly double that in the Global South, with adoption slowed by infrastructure and access challenges.
The U.S. and China account for 86% of global data center capacity, revealing how concentrated AI infrastructure remains.
Language diversity limits adoption, particularly in regions where low-resource languages dominate online communication.
Countries such as Singapore, the UAE, and Norway demonstrate how coordinated policies and digital readiness can drive faster adoption.
The report emphasizes access, education, and inclusion as key factors in ensuring AI’s benefits are more widely shared.
What's striking here is how the numbers tell two different stories at once. Yes, AI reached over a billion users faster than any previous technology—that part is remarkable. But when you look closer, those users aren't spread evenly. Countries with reliable electricity grids, solid internet infrastructure, and populations that speak widely-supported languages are seeing quick adoption. Meanwhile, nearly half the world is still missing one or more of these basics. Even language matters more than you'd expect: Swahili, spoken by over 200 million people, has about 500 times less online content than German. So even when someone has internet access, the AI tools might barely work in their language.
There's also something interesting happening at the development level. The race to build better AI models has gotten surprisingly tight—China is only about six months behind the US in performance now, and the gap keeps narrowing. But here's the catch: actually running these models at scale requires massive data centers, and 86% of that capacity sits in just two countries. So while more nations are learning to build competitive models, the infrastructure to deploy them widely isn't keeping pace. The report doesn't push any particular agenda, but it does make you wonder: if the first billion users came this quickly, what's it going to take to reach the next billion?
Read the full article here.
Read the full report here.
OTHER INTERESTING AI HIGHLIGHTS:
New California Laws Protect Children from AI Risks
/Alexandria Ng, Staff Writer, on EdWeek Market Brief
California has enacted a sweeping set of AI and social media regulations aimed at protecting children online, marking a major shift from “What can AI do?” to “How safe is AI?” Governor Gavin Newsom signed a package of bills that set new standards for chatbot transparency, age verification, and social media warnings. The laws also strengthen penalties for deepfake exploitation and introduce new cyberbullying prevention requirements for schools. For education and tech companies, this legislation signals a new era of accountability in how AI products are designed and deployed for young users.
Read more here.
Google Maps Launches AI Tool for Instant Map Prototypes
/Angela Yu, Product Manager, and Stacey Allen, Product Marketing Manager, on Google Maps Platform
Google Maps Platform has unveiled Builder agent, a geospatial AI tool that lets users turn ideas into interactive map prototypes in minutes—no coding experience required. Powered by Gemini models, Builder agent combines generative AI with Google Maps APIs to create fully coded, customizable demos from a single sentence prompt. From 3D travel previews to data-driven planning maps, it helps teams test ideas faster and streamline development. Google says the tool lowers the barrier to innovation by helping more people experiment and prototype using live Maps data.
Read more here.
SOME AI TOOLS TO TRY OUT:
Ancher – Learns what matters to you and filters news so you stay informed.
Context Link – Share one link that gives AI the right context from your sources instantly.
Nessie – Turns AI chats into a searchable, evolving knowledge base for your mind.
That’s a wrap on today’s Almost Daily craziness.
Catch us almost every day—almost! 😉
EXCITING NEWS:
The Another Crazy Day in AI newsletter is on LinkedIn!!!
Leveraging AI for Enhanced Content: As part of our commitment to exploring new technologies, we used AI to help curate and refine our newsletters. This enriches our content and keeps us at the forefront of digital innovation, ensuring you stay informed with the latest trends and developments.
