The real gap in AI adoption

The gap between AI power and use

OpenAI is worried about unused capacity.

In a January 18 post, OpenAI argues the biggest issue is the gap between what current AI systems can do and what people, companies, and governments are actually getting from them. The company points to ChatGPT’s three-year arc, from simple Q&A to systems that can now reason across software, math, and research tasks.

The most concrete detail is usage data showing power users consume about 7x more “thinking power” than typical users, which tells me the divide is not access alone but skill, confidence, and habit. This reads less like a grand vision and more like a quiet admission that most people are still poking at the surface while a smaller group is working late, eyes on a glowing screen, pushing these tools much harder.

OpenAI frames free access, APIs, and economic data as ways to close that gap, which also conveniently aligns with its business model. If the gap stays wide, productivity gains concentrate fast.

What happens if most people never cross that line?

AI video lands in everyday work

Google just made AI video a normal work feature.

Google is rolling its AI video tool, Flow, into Google Workspace for all customers, starting January 14, 2026. Flow lets users generate HD videos from text prompts using models like Veo 3.1, and it was previously limited to paid AI Pro and Ultra plans.

This matters because it shifts AI video from a creative sandbox into the same place people already write docs and build slides, usually under fluorescent lights in the middle of a workday. Google is clearly betting that video creation is about to feel as routine as making a deck, not something reserved for marketing teams or specialists.

For businesses and schools, the promise is speed: minutes instead of days for training clips, explainers, or prototypes. Admin controls help limit chaos, but once this is on by default, usage will spread fast.

When video becomes this easy, what stops every idea from becoming one?

The AI gap is personal

Most workers think AI hits someone else.

A World Economic Forum piece by Udemy CEO Hugo Sarrazin lays out a perception gap: people accept AI will reshape the economy, yet downplay its impact on their own jobs. In the UK, 70% worry about AI’s economic impact, but only 39% think their own role is at risk.

That mismatch matters because it slows action, especially when learning time already competes with meetings, inbox noise, and the glow of a laptop late in the day. The data showing AI now makes up 67.5% of learning priorities tells me interest is there, but confidence and direction are not.

When employers offer structured, job-linked training, 70% of US workers actually complete it, which suggests the bottleneck is design and support, not motivation. Soft skills get talked about, but they keep slipping while technical courses stack up.

If everyone agrees change is coming, why do so few act like it’s close?

Prohuman team

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