The digital divide describes disparities in access to and usage of digital tooling between social and economic groups. Emerging generative artificial intelligence tools, which strongly affect productivity, could magnify the impact of these divides. However, the affordability, multi-modality, and multilingual capabilities of these tools could also make them more accessible to diverse users in comparison with previous forms of digital tooling. In this study, we characterize spatial differences in U.S. residents' knowledge of a new generative AI tool, ChatGPT, through an analysis of state- and county-level search query data. In the first six months after the tool's release, we observe the highest rates of users searching for ChatGPT in West Coast states and persistently low rates of search in Appalachian and Gulf states. Counties with the highest rates of search are relatively more urbanized and have proportionally more educated, more economically advantaged, and more Asian residents in comparison with other counties or with the U.S. average. In multilevel models adjusting for socioeconomic and demographic factors as well as industry makeup, education is the strongest positive predictor of rates of search for generative AI tooling. Although generative AI technologies may be novel, early differences in uptake appear to be following familiar paths of digital marginalization.

From robot recruiters to AI-enabled chefs, androids are now being used in a range of applications across different industries. But a new study has warned against robots in the workplace, amid fears the bots can contribute to burnout, fears about job insecurity, and incivility among colleagues. This is even the case in industries where robots aren't being used, according to researchers from the National University of Singapore. Dr Kai Chi Yam, who led the study, said: 'Some economists theorize that robots are more likely to take over blue-collar jobs faster than white-collar jobs. 'However, it doesn't look like robots are taking over that many jobs yet, at least not in the United States, so a lot of these fears are rather subjective.'

If you spend too much time on your smartphone, scientists have a list of 10 solutions that can help you cut back on screen time. The small but effective changes can help curb smartphone addiction and mental health issues such as depression, say experts at McGill University in Canada. In experiments, people following the strategies reduced their screen time, felt less addicted to their phone and improved their sleep quality, the experts report. Among the 10 strategies are changing the phone display to'greyscale' so the display appears black and white, and disabling facial recognition as a method of unlocking the screen. A black and white screen makes smartphones'less gratifying' to look at compared to the bright colours offered by app icons such as TikTok and Instagram.

UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid has greenlit a series of AI-based projects that aim to tackle racial inequalities in the NHS. Racial inequality continues to be rampant in healthcare. Examining the fallout of COVID-19 serves as yet another example of the disparity between ethnicities. In England and Wales, males of Black African ethnic background had the highest rate of death involving COVID-19, 2.7 times higher than males of a White ethnic background. Females of Black Caribbean ethnic background had the highest rate, 2.0 times higher than females of White ethnic background.

A new study by Ducker Frontier revealed that Puerto Rico could create between 26 and 34 percent additional jobs with the successful implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in the public and private sectors. On Nov. 5, during the second annual Microsoft AI Tour held at the Sheraton Hotel and Casino in San Juan's Convention District, Pablo González, director of Ducker Frontier Latin America, discussed with THE WEEKLY JOURNAL the entity's most recent analysis of Puerto Rico's advancement in adopting AI and other emerging technologies. AI, as defined by Microsoft Caribbean General Manager Herbert Lewy, is an amplification of human ingenuity, "a tool that allows humans to achieve more and improve the things we normally do." The continuous progress of this booming technology has prompted a myriad of concerns and dystopian scenarios regarding automation, such as computers rendering humans obsolete at a plethora of jobs and services, thus amplifying economic disparity. "People think that if an algorithm can do 30 percent of our tasks they will get fired from their jobs. The study intends to demystify this perception and shed light on some issues… We also wanted to measure something that is almost never measured, which is the creation of new industries and, therefore, jobs that do not exist today to reach a net effect of how it will affect job availability in Puerto Rico," González explained.

With leaders increasingly seeing artificial intelligence (AI) as helping to drive the next great economic expansion, a fear of missing out is spreading around the globe. Numerous nations have developed AI strategies to advance their capabilities, through investment, incentives, talent development, and risk management. As AI's importance to the next generation of technology grows, many leaders are worried that they will be left behind and not share in the gains. There is a growing realization of AI's importance, including its ability to provide competitive advantage and change work for the better. A majority of global early adopters say that AI technologies are especially important to their business success today--a belief that is increasing. A majority also say they are using AI technologies to move ahead of their competition, and that AI empowers their workforce. AI success depends on getting the execution right. Organizations often must excel at a wide range of practices to ensure AI success, including developing a strategy, pursuing the right use cases, building a data foundation, and cultivating a strong ability to experiment. These capabilities are critical now because, as AI becomes even easier to consume, the window for competitive differentiation will likely shrink. Early adopters from different countries display varying levels of AI maturity. Enthusiasm and experience vary among early adopters from different countries. Some are pursuing AI vigorously, while others are taking a more cautious approach.

After decades of isolation, the Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar is roaring ahead with the fasting growing economy in Asia in 2016, according to the Asian Development Bank's Asian Development Outlook 2016. Natural gas exports slightly increased as well. Tourism was also a major driver of the economy with 4.7 million arrivals in 2015 with about 70% of visitors entering overland from neighboring countries. Spending by tourists rose by 19% to $2.1 billion in 2015.