Like it or lump it, AI is making a mark on the environment and population, with research this week suggesting more Australians are using artificial intelligence platforms than ever before.
With AI found in lots of new phones, plenty of computers, features of services, and practically any and every tech-connected offering, exposure to AI has certainly increased, and Australians are using more of it.
Research from Telsyte’s Australian Artificial Intelligence Study for this year has shown roughly four in five people are using AI services monthly, with around five million using it daily, up from two million around the same time last year.
The report suggests ChatGPT is the most widely used of the platforms, followed by Google’s Gemini found on Android and the web, with Meta AI, Microsoft Copilot, Apple Intelligence on phones and devices, and other models down below that. In Australia, usage of Anthropic Claude is lower than all of these, sitting just above Canva’s AI platform.
Despite the surge in AI usage, Telsyte notes that most people are using it for free, with many Australians unsure whether they can trust the technology, finding it changes faster than they can keep up with. Interestingly, around 12 percent of Australians cite AI tools as their main way to find information online, even though AI isn’t always an up-to-date approach for those purposes.
A little over 2000 people answered the survey questions, working as representation for the country, with Telsyte looking into and measuring usage of over 40 services, and covering AI in hardware, as well. That led the research to noting the phone as the main way to experience AI for most people, with growing anticipation around AI service makers getting into hardware and devices, too.
But one of the more interesting stats could be around side hustles, finding out that 75 percent of independent workers and gig workers using AI tools weekly, more often than the 66 percent of everyone else. Suggestive that people are actively using AI to help them make a little money on the side, something some services may be built for, such as AI coding services allowing people to make apps and websites, for instance.
While Telsyte’s research paints a positive picture for the uptake of AI platforms and services, it also doesn’t note where a growing pushback and backlash for AI sits, something that appears to be growing each and every year. That’s also without mentioning whether those surveyed were asked about the environmental impact, which can be a part of the backlash against the technology.
However whether or not you use it mightn’t be the point; more people are, something the research seems to support, and that could change the way they live their lives for better or worse.
