The education gap is widening:
Low education: 44% use AI (+22pp)
Higher ed ≤4 years: 61% (+26pp)
Higher ed >4 years: 71% (+26pp)
All groups are growing — but the most educated are growing fastest. The AI divide is getting *bigger*, not smaller.
The income gap is growing too. 4 in 10 lower-income Norwegians use AI, versus 7 in 10 among the highest earners. Lower-income users rely on AI almost exclusively for leisure. Among high earners, work and leisure use is nearly equal.
AI is currently benefiting those who already have the most.
What is AI being used for? Among AI users:
🏠 Leisure: 84%
💼 Work: 53%
🎓 Education: 22%
🤝 Volunteering: 14%
The most common tasks across all contexts: writing, information search, and text editing.
Concerns are high — and rising:
* Political manipulation: 70% (+5pp)
* Tech companies' power: 68% (+3pp)
* Undermining critical thinking: 68% (+5pp)
Fear of unemployment is actually the *only* concern that has gone down — from 43% to 37%.
Hope exists — but trails behind concern. The most widespread hope is that AI will take over tedious tasks (41%). Hope for democratising knowledge has grown a little (20 → 26%). But fewer than half feel hopeful about any of the positive scenarios.
Trust in AI is low — but nudging upward. Only 14% have high or fairly high trust in AI tools (up from 10% in 2023). AI remains the least trusted institution in Norway — far behind the police and courts (~70% each).
Trust is driven by hope and concern, not by age or education.
Trust in AI is low — but nudging upward. Only 14% have high or fairly high trust in AI tools (up from 10% in 2023). AI remains the least trusted institution in Norway — far behind the police and courts (~70% each).
Trust is driven by hope and concern, not by age or education.
The "AI divide" we warned about in 2023 looks deeper now, not shallower.
Full report (in Norwegian):
https://www.samfunnsforskning.no/nyheter/2026/nordmenn-bruker-ki-mer.html