OpenAI Reveals How the World Uses ChatGPT: Between Curiosity and Caution
Tehran - BORNA - According to a joint study by OpenAI and the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) — described as the largest of its kind — nearly 10 percent of the world’s population has now experimented with ChatGPT since its public debut in November 2022.
The findings, first reported by TechCrunch, indicate that almost half (49 percent) of all ChatGPT requests over the past three years have been simple questions or advice-seeking interactions. While the chatbot is capable of writing code, drafting emails, or generating creative text, its most common use remains providing information in a conversational manner.
At the same time, more than 70 percent of overall usage has been classified as “non-work related,” suggesting that everyday curiosity and personal engagement still outweigh professional or business applications. Yet professional use is growing steadily, especially in fields such as programming, research, and content development.
A Gender Shift in AI Adoption
One of the most striking trends is demographic. In the early months following ChatGPT’s launch, about 80 percent of weekly users were men, with usernames reflecting typically male identifiers. But by June 2025, this pattern had reversed, with female-associated usernames outnumbering male ones. Researchers described this as a “dramatic shift” that may reflect broader normalization of AI tools across diverse social groups.
Inequalities Across Borders
The study also highlighted socio-economic gaps in AI usage. Anthropic, the company behind rival chatbot Claude, shared parallel data indicating that AI adoption correlates strongly with income levels. Wealthier countries like Singapore and Canada showed significantly higher rates of engagement compared to emerging economies such as Indonesia, India, and Nigeria.
Even within the United States, income disparities influenced adoption. Researchers observed that for every 1 percent increase in a state’s GDP, AI usage rose by 1.8 percent. This suggests that while AI is often described as a democratizing technology, in practice, access and sustained engagement are closely tied to wealth and digital infrastructure.
Promise and Peril
The growing footprint of AI raises broader questions about its benefits and risks. On the one hand, ChatGPT and similar tools are reshaping education, research, and even personal productivity by lowering barriers to information. They provide students with tutoring, assist small businesses with professional communication, and give ordinary users creative outlets once unavailable at scale.
On the other hand, the risks of dependency, inequality, and misuse loom large. Critics warn that over-reliance on AI for problem-solving could erode critical thinking skills, while the concentration of AI usage in wealthier societies threatens to widen global divides. Privacy concerns also persist, with questions about how much personal data is absorbed and analyzed by these platforms.
Furthermore, the political dimension cannot be ignored. As the Iranian experience with digital technologies has shown, access to global platforms often intersects with issues of sovereignty, security, and cultural autonomy. Experts caution that without clear safeguards, AI could become yet another instrument of power asymmetry between developed and developing states.
For now, the data suggests that AI is no longer a niche experiment. It is a global phenomenon, embraced by millions for everything from daily advice to complex problem-solving. But its uneven adoption, gendered dynamics, and deep links to wealth reveal that the “AI revolution” is not unfolding uniformly.
The challenge for policymakers, technologists, and societies alike will be to harness AI’s transformative potential while addressing its inequities and risks. As ChatGPT and its rivals continue to evolve, the story is no longer just about innovation — it is about responsibility.
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