ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION:
Taiwan ranked ahead of the US, Denmark and Germany, which placed 21st, 22nd and 23rd respectively, in use of generative AI

Taiwan recorded the world’s 20th-highest artificial intelligence (AI) diffusion rate in the first quarter of this year, entering the top 20 for the first time, a report released by a Microsoft think tank showed.

In the AI Economy Institute report published on Thursday, Taiwan recorded a generative AI usage rate of 31.8 percent of its working population, rising from 23rd place in the second half of last year.

Taiwan ranked ahead of the US, Denmark and Germany, which placed 21st, 22nd and 23rd with rates of 31.3 percent, 31.2 percent and 31.1 percent respectively.

Photo: Reuters

Taiwan and Japan posted increases of 3.4 percentage points from the previous quarter, tying for the sixth-largest gain.

South Korea, ranked 16th globally with a diffusion rate of 37.1 percent, recorded the largest increase at 6.4 percentage points.

The report measured the share of people aged 15 to 64 using generative AI across 147 economies.

Globally, the AI diffusion rate reached 17.8 percent in the first quarter of this year, up 1.5 percentage points from the second half of last year, the report said.

A total of 26 economies recorded diffusion rates above 30 percent.

The United Arab Emirates and Singapore were the only two economies with diffusion rates exceeding 50 percent, at 70.1 percent and 63.4 percent respectively.

The two nations were followed by Norway, Ireland, France, Spain, New Zealand, the UK, the Netherlands and Qatar.

The report also said that 12 of the 15 economies with the sharpest increases in AI use since June last year were in Asia, with each recording a minimum growth of about 25 percent in AI users.

South Korea led with a 43.2 percent increase, followed by Thailand at 36.4 percent and Japan at 34.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the gap in AI adoption between the so-called global north and global south was widening.

The diffusion rate in the “global north” rose from 22.9 percent in the second half of last year to 27.5 percent in the first quarter of this year, while the “global south” increased from 13.1 percent to 15.4 percent.

The institute attributed the widening divide to persistent challenges in the “global south,” including limited access to reliable electricity and Internet connectivity, as well as lower digital skills.

“Until these foundational gaps are addressed, the benefits of generative AI will remain unevenly distributed, risking a deepening of existing global inequalities,” the report said.