AI Use Linked to High-Paying Jobs in Anthropic Report, While Japanese Youth See AI as Friend

Anthropic’s June Economic Index Report analyzes usage of its Claude model, showing that AI engagement follows daily, weekly and seasonal work rhythms. Token consumption – a proxy for compute cost – rises in proportion to median salaries, meaning higher‑paid professionals allocate more AI resources to autonomous “agentic” tasks such as code generation and complex document drafting. The data reveal spikes during events like the U.S. tax filing deadline and a shift from simple chat to longer‑running AI‑driven workflows.

A separate survey by Tokyo‑based design firm αFind examined AI habits among 10‑12‑year‑olds (the “α generation”). Among 4,237 respondents, 60.5% reported using AI daily, averaging 31 minutes per day—more than time spent on Instagram or X. Forty‑two point nine percent described AI as a “friend you can talk to without effort,” and AI matched friends as the top source for romantic‑advice consultations. At the same time, 43.2% expressed strong concern that heavy AI reliance could weaken their own thinking skills.