Despite a climate of growing distrust, authoritative warnings, and public protests, AI continues to spread at extraordinary rates in the daily lives of hundreds of millions of people.
While graduation speeches are met with boos when AI is mentioned, and figures like the Pope and major companies in the sector warn about the dangers of unchecked development, usage data tells an opposite story.
A report by CNBC explores the contrast between increasingly critical public sentiment and the real expansion of AI adoption, based on the latest numbers and ongoing market dynamics.
Cooling of Public Sentiment
Recently, a clear shift in collective mood towards AI has solidified. The initial enthusiasm has given way to widespread concerns about ethical, employment, environmental, and security issues.
During recent graduation ceremonies at American universities, graduates have openly protested references to AI, mainly fearing that the technology might replace young people’s roles at the start of their careers, but also due to broader concerns related to societal impact.
These signals have been joined by authoritative positions. The Pope, in his encyclical released on May 25, highlighted the risks of worsening social inequalities and threats to public safety due to the insatiable demand for AI systems.
Anthropic, one of the main developers in the sector, also called for a pause in global AI development, emphasizing that systems capable of designing their own successors would make control, monitoring, and alignment with human values far more complex.
ChatGPT’s Record Growth
Despite controversies and fears, usage numbers show an unprecedented success for AI.
According to estimates from analytics company Sensor Tower, OpenAI’s ChatGPT reached one billion monthly active users in May. This is a historic milestone, achieved in only about three and a half years since its launch in November 2022, beating the previous record held by Google Maps, which took nearly five years to reach the same user volume.
OpenAI stated in February that it surpassed 900 million weekly active users across web and mobile app platforms, with overall traffic six times higher than the second largest AI service.
This record confirms the central role ChatGPT has assumed in the daily lives of countless people worldwide.
Competitors Quickly Gaining Ground
While ChatGPT maintains a clear lead in total users, rival models are growing at much faster rates.
Anthropic’s Claude and Meta AI have recorded annual increases of 640% and 973%, respectively, compared to ChatGPT’s more modest +62%. Other relevant players include Google’s Gemini, ByteDance’s Doubao, and its international version Dola.
As Abe Yousef, senior analyst at Sensor Tower, explained, this acceleration stems both from tangible improvements in model quality and from a more favorable market sentiment towards alternatives perceived as less controversial.
ChatGPT still benefits from the first-mover advantage, but the competitive landscape is rapidly becoming more crowded and dynamic.
The Pentagon Deal Case
A telling episode demonstrated how public reactions can directly influence user choices.
At the end of February, OpenAI announced a deal with the U.S. Department of Defense to implement its models on classified Pentagon networks. The news triggered a spike in ChatGPT uninstalls, which increased by 295% in a single day.
That same weekend, Anthropic’s Claude topped the App Store charts in the United States, surpassing ChatGPT in downloads for the first time. The reason? Anthropic had publicly refused military collaborations, gaining credibility among users more sensitive to ethical issues.
This is a clear example of how ethical stances can translate into a concrete competitive advantage, at least in the short term.
Adoption in the Workplace
Despite widespread unease, daily AI use continues to expand robustly.
A Boston Consulting Group survey of about 12,000 workers revealed that 74% regularly use AI tools, an increase of 23 percentage points compared to the previous year. More than 40% of these regular users claim to save the equivalent of an entire workday each week thanks to AI.
Hanno Stegmann, general manager and partner at BCG X, emphasizes that the AI adoption trajectory shows no signs of slowing. It is understandable that a generation entering the workforce now feels uncertain about such rapid changes, but practical utility seems to outweigh general concerns.
The United Nations estimates that the global AI market could reach $4.8 trillion by 2033, reflecting enormous growth expectations.
The Paradox
As Yousef of Sensor Tower observes, although negative sentiment towards AI is growing, consumers continue to use and increasingly depend on these platforms. Convenience, efficiency, and tangible benefits currently seem stronger than general concerns.
CNBC’s conclusion is that we are living a classic technological paradox: while ethical, social, and employment debates intensify, AI is deeply embedding itself in the habits of hundreds of millions of people.
