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We still don’t know how people are really using AI

View original at technologyreview.com
MIT Technology Review - Ai Research Title: We still don’t know how people are really using AI Date: 2026-08-18 10:06 Source: https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/08/18/1142226/how-people-use-ai/ <div></div> <p>AI companies like Anthropic and OpenAI regularly publish reports on how people are using products like Claude…
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  • Anthropic's published research reflects its research teams' specific questions and interests, and it's important to support external independent research.

    60% confidence

  • Having the AI Observatory's bird's-eye-view analysis rather than leaving that information sectioned off into a separate report helps researchers understand the different uses more consistently.

    60% confidence

  • Researchers cannot determine whether Anthropic's general-purpose AI system is used mostly for good or mostly for bad because that information is proprietary.

    60% confidence

  • Anyone making decisions based on AI usage data risks completely operating in the wild and making consequential decisions without knowing what's actually happening beyond company narratives.

    60% confidence

  • Highly consequential decisions about AI's benefits and risks are currently being made on the basis of very limited data.

    60% confidence

  • There is no independent source to corroborate the usage data AI companies publish.

    60% confidence

  • No single company report tells the whole story of AI usage.

    60% confidence

Data points we hold from this source

OpenAI · conversations analyzed1500000 count
OpenAI · work related use share30 percent
What we know · the intelligence behind this page
Live from the substrate
What we're seeing
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EPKINLY Regulatory-Clinical Success Cascade
High probability of expanded label indications, additional combination approvals, and competitive positioning strength in follicular lymphoma market. Predicts positive commercial uptake and potential accelerated review for related indications.
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Berkshire Hathaway
Both facts report Berkshire Hathaway's cash position on 2026-01-01 with identical observation timestamps, but claim vastly different values: 380 billion USD vs 400 USD. These cannot both be true for the same entity at the same point in time. The magnitude of the discrepancy (a factor of ~10^9) rules out rounding, unit conversion, or methodological differences.
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