Another Crazy Day in AI: What the Numbers Say About Chatbot Use
- Wowza Team
- Sep 16
- 4 min read
Hello, AI Enthusiasts.
As the workday fades, the research keeps rolling in.
Researchers from Duke, Harvard, and OpenAI—through a nonprofit research group—have traced how ChatGPT went from zero to 10% of the world’s adults in less than three years. Beyond the numbers, the study tracks the habits of everyday users turning AI into a daily tool.
Meanwhile, Google is pitching 10 AI “Gold Standards” meant to help emerging economies build their own AI-ready ecosystems.
And YouTube is sharpening its Studio with tools that brainstorm, fact-check, and even lip-sync!
Here's another crazy day in AI:
The many uses of ChatGPT
AI policy gold standards for emerging economies
AI-powered updates in YouTube Studio
Some AI tools to try out
TODAY'S FEATURED ITEM: Inside Three Years of ChatGPT Data
Image Credit: Wowza (created with Ideogram)
What does it really mean when 10% of the world's adults have adopted a technology that didn't exist three years ago?
A new research paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research finally pulls back the curtain on ChatGPT usage patterns, analyzing conversations from launch in November 2022 through July 2025. Written by Aaron Chatterji, Thomas Cunningham, David J. Deming, Zoe Hitzig, Christopher Ong, Carl Yan Shan, and Kevin Wadman—researchers from Duke University, Harvard University, and OpenAI—the study used privacy-preserving methods to examine how this technology spread to roughly 10% of the world's adult population in less than three years. Beyond the numbers, the research offers one of the first systematic looks at how people are actually using conversational systems in their daily and professional lives.
The researchers highlighted several patterns:
Early adoption leaned male, but usage has since balanced out.
Growth has been strong in lower-income countries, not just high-income ones.
Non-work usage now makes up more than 70% of conversations.
Work-related use is most common among those with higher education and professional jobs.
The most frequent categories are Practical Guidance, Seeking Information, and Writing—together nearly 80% of all conversations.
Writing dominates workplace use, while programming and creative expression account for smaller shares.
Decision support tasks are particularly common in knowledge-based roles.
This research offers a window into something we rarely get to examine closely: how people actually integrate new technology into their lives once the initial excitement settles. The patterns that emerged don't always match what we might expect. People gravitated toward practical applications rather than experimental ones, and they found ways to use ChatGPT for everyday problems that require thinking through options or organizing complex information.
The geographic distribution particularly challenges conventional wisdom about technology adoption. When barriers to access are lowered, developing countries can move faster than established markets, suggesting that utility often trumps economic factors in driving uptake. The predominance of personal over professional use also tells us something important about human needs. While workplace applications get significant attention, people discovered value in having a conversational partner for personal decisions, learning, and problem-solving outside their professional roles.
Perhaps most significantly, the study documents how a sophisticated technology found its place not by revolutionizing how people work or think, but by augmenting existing processes in subtle ways. The concentration of professional benefits among educated workers raises important questions about who gains access to productivity improvements, while the global spread suggests these tools can provide value across different economic circumstances. As more conversational systems enter the market, understanding these baseline usage patterns becomes crucial for anticipating how such technologies might develop and what effects they might have on different communities and economic sectors.
Read the full paper here.
OTHER INTERESTING AI HIGHLIGHTS:
AI Policy Gold Standards for Emerging Economies
/Eunice Huang (Head of AI and Emerging Tech Policy, Google Asia Pacific), and Shimon Shmooely (Head of Public Affairs and AI Policy, Emerging Markets), on Google Blogs – The Keyword
Google has released 10 AI Policy Gold Standards aimed at helping emerging economies unlock the potential of artificial intelligence. Building on the 2024 AI Sprinters Framework, the roadmap outlines how governments can build AI-ready ecosystems, enable broad adoption, and establish supportive regulations. The standards cover critical areas such as cloud infrastructure, open datasets, AI skills training, copyright frameworks, and international standards alignment. The goal: ensure AI drives inclusive growth, safeguards privacy, and strengthens development worldwide.
Read more here.
AI-Powered Updates in YouTube Studio
/Amjad Hanif (Vice President of Creator Products), on YouTube Official Blog
YouTube unveiled new Studio updates designed to act as a creative partner for creators at every stage of their journey. Key features include Ask Studio, an AI-powered conversational tool for insights and inspiration; an expanded Inspiration tab to spark fresh video ideas; and new A/B testing options for titles and thumbnails. The updates also bring auto dubbing with lip sync, enhanced collaboration tools, and expanded likeness detection for protecting creators’ identities. Together, these tools reflect YouTube’s push to make content creation smarter, safer, and more collaborative.
Read more here.
SOME AI TOOLS TO TRY OUT:
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!!!
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