More Than 60% of People Are Using This… And Pretending They’re “Not Really”

It feels like just yesterday someone casually mentioned using ChatGPT or “A.I.,” and you nodded politely while your brain screamed, I have no idea what any of that means.

Fast-forward to now, and according to a new report, more than 60% of American adults used a dedicated A.I. platform last year. So yes, the robots didn’t just arrive. They unpacked, reorganized the house, and labelled the drawers.

Among Gen Z and other power users, over one-third admit they go to A.I. first when starting personal tasks. That includes planning trips, researching purchases, figuring out how to fix something they broke, or writing a résumé that says “team player” without crying.

These are people voluntarily choosing A.I., and honestly, even if you swear you don’t use it, you probably do. It’s baked into search engines, apps, customer service chats, and every “representative will be with you shortly” moment of your life.

But here’s the twist: while people are embracing A.I., they’re also quietly running back to the past.

Analog lifestyles, sometimes lovingly referred to as “grandma hobbies,” are trending hard. Think handwritten letters, watercolours, knitting, origami, film photography, and listening to vinyl records while pretending you can hear the difference. Turns out, when technology gets overwhelming, people cope by doing crafts and buying stationery.

RELATED: IS CHATGPT GETTING LAZIER BECAUSE IT’S “SEASONALLY DEPRESSED”?

One more thing. If you’re a fan of ChatGPT, brace yourself.

OpenAI has announced that ads are coming to some versions of ChatGPT, especially the free and lower-cost tiers. The company insists that answers will not be influenced by advertisers, because that would be unethical. Obviously. Nothing has ever gone wrong with advertising before.

On Monday, OpenAI’s chief global affairs officer, Chris Lehane, said the company is “on track” to reveal its famously mysterious thingamajig by the end of the year, according to Axios.

The comment came during an event at the World Economic Forum in Davos. No details were provided about what this thing actually is or does, which somehow makes it feel even more powerful.

Bottom line: A.I. is everywhere, people love it, people fear it, and everyone is knitting again just in case.