- AI adoption varies widely across countries, creating growing overcapacity
- Power users rely on AI for complex, multi-step tasks instead of prompts
- OpenAI claims some low-income countries use advanced AI more than richer nations
AI systems are improving rapidly, but adoption across countries remains uneven, according to new research.
OpenAI’s findings argue that there is a growing excess capacity between what current AI systems can do and how much of that capacity is actually used by people, businesses and governments.
The company warns that this gap risks allowing a small group of countries to advance faster economically and technologically, while others struggle to keep pace.
Evidence of unequal adoption between countries
OpenAI frames this as an issue of use rather than access, suggesting that uneven skills, infrastructure, and institutional readiness are as important as model availability.
Data cited by OpenAI indicates that advanced usage differs markedly between users and countries.
Advanced users rely on stronger reasoning skills, using AI tools for complicated multi-step tasks rather than single-step prompts.
Country-level differences show similar variation, with some nations using much more advanced capabilities per person than others.
OpenAI notes that this gap does not clearly align with income levels, because some countries with lower income levels use advanced AI tools more than some wealthier countries.
OpenAI’s response to this gap is its Education for Countries program, which aims to integrate AI into national education systems.
The initiative focuses on developing AI skills among students while providing educators with training and tools to guide responsible use, and its first partners include countries in Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and the Caribbean.
OpenAI describes the program as a way to treat AI as essential educational infrastructure and will support research while expanding access to advanced systems.
OpenAI links educational efforts to broader national strategies that include workplace adoption, infrastructure development, and workforce training.
The company maintains that productivity gains depend on expanding enterprise use and improving institutional fluency with artificial intelligence systems.
New initiatives announced in conjunction with the World Economic Forum expand this focus to areas such as health, disaster preparedness, cybersecurity and startup support.
These programs are described as flexible frameworks shaped through discussions with partner governments rather than standardized implementations.
In its own framework, OpenAI positions adoption, skills, and infrastructure as necessary add-ons to improve model capability.
The company’s interpretation is that early action could allow more countries to translate AI progress into tangible economic benefits.
It remains uncertain whether partnerships and broader access to AI can reduce structural differences, given differences in governance, financing and policy delivery.
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