We still don’t know how people are really using AI
Summary
AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic publish usage reports, but researchers say they only share selected data that doesn't show the full picture of how people actually use AI. The AI Observatory, a new independent research project, analyzed real conversations from popular AI models like Claude and Gemini to provide unbiased information for researchers and policymakers. The project found that published reports miss significant non-work uses, including health discussions, sensitive topics, and harmful content, and that AI usage patterns differ considerably across different AI models.
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Original source: https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/08/18/1142226/how-people-use-ai/
First tracked: August 18, 2026 at 08:01 AM
Classified by LLM (prompt v3) · confidence: 82%