Report: Arkansas' AI adoption is low
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Illustration: Maura Kearns/Axios
Arkansans' adoption of artificial intelligence is one of the lowest in the country, according to new usage data from AI company Anthropic.
Why it matters: AI use is spreading unevenly, with wealthier countries, people with more skills and certain U.S. states more likely to benefit.
- The data shows workers adopting AI faster than past tech advances, but uneven adoption threatens to worsen existing inequalities.
The big picture: The interactive report breaks down how usage of the Claude chatbot varies by country as well as by state, identifying which states are using the technology more and for what purposes.
Zoom in: Arkansas' usage rank is 46 of 51 (including Washington, D.C.).
- The most common uses to harness the technology are to edit and improve written content (4.4%) or help with academic research and writing (4.4%), followed by programming (3.3%) and debugging software (3.2%).
- Arkansans also use it to draft K-12 educational materials and formal documents.
State of play: Walmart uses AI for automation and supply chain management, and even to help predict the next trendy fashion item.
Yes, but: That doesn't mean there's a plan to teach the technology in the state's public education system.
- "I think a lot of [training] falls on the private sector … our big role is in the protection side and utilizing technology to benefit the citizens that we serve by making things more efficient," Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders told Axios earlier this year.
Zoom out: California, Washington, D.C., and Utah show the largest usage relative to population, while a number of southern and Plains states are underrepresented.
People are also using AI for different tasks across states.
Higher-skilled workers are benefiting more than entry-level workers, perhaps because they can fill in gaps in Claude's knowledge.
Between the lines: Anthropic's report highlights the risks of AI repeating patterns seen in past tech waves — improving living conditions and economic growth broadly, but with benefits accruing mostly to the wealthy.
- "If the productivity gains are larger for high-adoption economies, current usage patterns suggest that the benefits of AI may concentrate in already-rich regions — possibly increasing global economic inequality and reversing growth convergence seen in recent decades," Anthropic said in the report.
Go deeper: Read about the report's methodology and global findings.