- AI adoption varies widely across countries, creating growing excess capacity
- Power users rely on AI for complex, multi-step tasks rather than prompts
- OpenAI says some low-income countries use advanced AI more than richer countries
Artificial intelligence systems are improving rapidly, but their adoption across countries remains uneven, according to a new study.
OpenAI’s results show that there is a growing capabilities gap between what current AI systems can do and how much of those capabilities are actually used by people, businesses, and governments.
The company warns that this gap risks allowing a small group of countries to evolve more quickly economically and technologically, while others struggle to keep pace.
Evidence of uneven adoption across countries
OpenAI sees this as a problem of use rather than access, suggesting that inequities in skills, infrastructure, and institutional readiness are just as important as model availability.
Data cited by OpenAI indicates that advanced usage differs greatly between users and countries.
Power users rely on stronger reasoning skills and use AI tools for complex, multi-step tasks instead of single-step prompts.
Country-level differences show similar variations, with some countries using much more advanced per capita capacities than others.
OpenAI notes that this gap does not correspond perfectly to income levels, as 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 in students while providing teachers with training and tools to guide responsible use. Initial 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 connects education efforts to broader national strategies that include workplace adoption, infrastructure development, and workforce training.
The company says productivity gains depend on large-scale enterprise use and improved institutional mastery of AI systems.
New initiatives announced alongside the World Economic Forum extend this approach to areas such as health, disaster preparedness, cybersecurity and support for start-ups.
These programs are described as flexible frameworks shaped by discussions with partner governments rather than standardized deployments.
In its own framework, OpenAI positions adoption, skills, and infrastructure as necessary complements to advancing the model’s capabilities.
The company’s interpretation is that early action could allow more countries to translate advances in AI into tangible economic benefits.
It remains unclear whether partnerships and broader access to AI can reduce structural differences, given differences in governance, financing and policy execution.
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