Global AI adoption remains low outside tech industry bubbles
Approximately 80% of people globally have never used AI, with half of the US population estimated to be non-users. Tech professionals are cautioned against overestimating adoption rates due to their own usage biases.
Martin Erickson highlights a significant gap between the tech industry's perception of AI adoption and global reality. He states that approximately 80% of people globally have never touched AI. In Western economies, specifically the United States, he estimates that 50% of the population has not used AI. Erickson argues that tech professionals are biased by their own usage and 'bubble,' leading them to incorrectly assume universal adoption. This perception gap can lead to misaligned product development and marketing strategies that fail to resonate with the broader market.
Erickson notes that while AI has democratized software creation, allowing non-technical users to build applications, these tools often lack robust maintenance and support. He uses the example of a restaurant manager who does not want to use coding tools to build a point-of-sale system but instead wants existing software to be more customizable and user-friendly. Erickson emphasizes that customers want their problems solved so they can focus on their business, not on interacting with AI tools directly. The data suggests that the majority of the global population remains outside the AI user base, indicating a substantial untapped market that requires different engagement strategies than those used within the tech sector.