New polling data released has found that 18% of adults across Ireland have used ChatGPT, with almost one in ten people reporting that they used the AI tool for work purposes.
The facts were extrapolated from the most recent Digital Insights research, commissioned by the country’s leading representative body for online businesses, Digital Business Ireland, and conducted by polling company, Ireland Thinks. It is based on a national representative sample, collected from a pool of over 30,000 panellists.
ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI, based in the United States. The chatbot uses natural language processes to create conversational dialogue, in response to user-generated prompts. ChatGPT has a number of practical applications including, but not limited to: solving equations, sentiment analysis, composing short and long-form content, concept generation and data extraction.
Among its key findings, the Digital Insights research has found that:
18% of adults in Ireland have used ChatGPT – 10% for personal purposes, 8% for work purposes
Usage of the tool varies slightly among the genders; 15% (female ) versus 21% (male )
Among the subset of adults who use ChatGPT, usage is most common among 18–24-year-olds (31% ) compared to those aged 65+ (4% )
High income earners are twice as likely (16% ) to use ChatGPT for work purposes versus the general population (8% )
This latest Digital Insights research demonstrates that while the functionality and the application of ChatGPT is often and widely discussed, usage of the tool remains low. The polling data nevertheless identifies patterns of usage among the general population; ChatGPT is more commonly used by the younger, male cohort – a trend which is unlikely to reverse.
Detailed in its pre-Budget 2024 submission to the Department of Finance, Digital Business Ireland has called for additional funding to be allocated to Skillnet; with the monies ringfenced for training on new technologies, such as ChatGPT. The representative body contends that this measure is necessary to ensure that SMEs and other organisations can keep pace with digital innovation.
“Our latest Digital Insights research provides a crucial perspective on the usage of ChatGPT among people in Ireland; and the patterns that have emerged among those who utilise the tool. The research findings demonstrate that, more needs to be done to encourage businesses to avail of the operational efficiencies AI tools can help to support.
Artificial intelligence (AI ) provides a potentiality for businesses that is simply too good to ignore. Regardless of the industry you operate in, having an AI strategy should now be an imperative. Those discerning businesses that are willing to make the short-term time investment to learn the workings of the tool will undoubtedly yield tangible benefits in the longer-term,” chairperson of Digital Business Ireland, Ashley McDonnell, said.
