Will AI Mirror Cell Phone Use?

Twenty years ago, the smartphone was still a novelty. Today, it's rarely more than an arm's length away.

This month's chart shows how often people say they use their phones, from occasionally (15 percent while walking the dog) to nearly constantly (98 percent at home).

From Rare to Everywhere

Cell phone use has risen steadily, and the "where" may explain why. Seventy percent of people use their phones at the airport. Eighty percent do it in restaurants, and 90 percent on public transport. Access to information while traveling, dining out, or commuting has shifted from a convenience to something closer to a necessity, making a device that most people didn't own two decades ago nearly indispensable.

Is AI Next?

Artificial intelligence appears to be moving through the same early stage smartphones once occupied: unevenly adopted, still earning trust in some settings, and already indispensable in others. If that pattern holds, the more interesting question isn't whether AI becomes part of daily life. It's how quickly and where it shows up first.

The Streaming Precedent

This wouldn't be the first time. On-demand video streaming once felt experimental, even a little indulgent. Now it's simply how many households watch television. The change can look sudden in hindsight, even though it usually took years to get there.

What This Means for You

None of this requires predicting exactly where AI goes next, and no one can say for certain how it plays out. Still, the technology people can't live without, once seemed at least as unlikely as AI does today. That's not proof of where AI is headed, but it may be worth watching as an indicator, particularly if consumers keep treating it as essential rather than optional.