Minnesotans lag nation in rate of AI tool use
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Minnesotans who live in cities are twice as likely to use AI tools as those who live in rural communities, a new report from Microsoft shows.
Why it matters: The uneven spread of artificial intelligence could deepen existing economic opportunity gaps between urban and rural communities, Microsoft president Brad Smith tells Axios.
In rural Minnesota, 13.1% of working-age adults used tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or Copilot.
- In metropolitan counties, 28.4% of Minnesotans are using AI.
The big picture: Even residents of Minnesota's metro areas are using AI at lower rates than Americans in other metro areas.
- Overall, the state ranked 38th for AI use.
The intrigue: College towns are AI hotspots nationwide.
- Blue Earth County (home of Minnesota State University, Mankato) and Stevens County (University of Minnesota Morris) ranked 2nd and 3rd in the state, respectively, for AI usage.
Go deeper: AI adoption splits along urban-rural lines (from Axios' AI+ newsletter)