Think Fast: The Rapid Rise of AI and the Cognitive Age

It's not just where AI is today—it's how fast it's changing how we think and work.

Reviewed by Margaret Foley

Key points

• AI has been adopted rapidly: 40 percent of U.S. adults have used generative AI within two years of its launch.
• The rise of AI signals not a single point in time but a trajectory that is shaping human cognition.
• AI's growth across industries is reshaping tasks from creative problem-solving to complex decision-making.

We are entering the Cognitive Age, an era where AI and large language models are not just tools—they are reshaping how we think, work, and create. A recent study highlights just how quickly this transformation is happening, with a significant percentage of U.S. adults having used generative AI in some form within two years of its introduction. This isn't just another technological milestone; it's a paradigm shift driven by the velocity of AI’s integration into our lives.

The Unprecedented Speed of AI Adoption

According to the study, generative AI’s adoption has outpaced that of both the personal computer and the internet, two technologies that dramatically transformed society. Within two years of AI’s mass-market introduction (marked by the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022), nearly 40 percent of U.S. adults had used it, with 28 percent of workers integrating it into their professional routines. What’s more telling is that nearly 11 percent of employed individuals report using AI on a daily basis, underscoring its growing ubiquity in the workplace.

Compare this to the internet, which took six years to reach a similar adoption rate, or the personal computer, which took even longer. The rapid adoption of AI indicates that we’re dealing with not just a new tool, but a fundamental shift in how humans engage with information. The speed at which AI is spreading signals a deeper truth: The Cognitive Age is not defined by the arrival of AI but by the accelerating trajectory of its integration into human cognition.

AI’s Broad Reach Across Sectors

While AI might seem most relevant in highly specialized or technical fields, the study highlights how it’s becoming a general-purpose technology that permeates nearly all industries. For example, almost 50 percent of workers in management, STEM fields, and computer-based jobs use AI regularly. However, what’s surprising is AI’s growing presence in traditionally nontechnical sectors. In the blue-collar workforce, for instance, 22 percent of workers now report using AI tools to assist with various tasks, from administrative support to data interpretation.

Generative AI is not just enhancing productivity in predictable fields like technology and finance; it is broadening the cognitive toolkit across professions. Whether it’s used to automate mundane tasks, generate new ideas, or perform high-level creative work, AI is proving to be an incredibly versatile tool that’s as valuable to a business manager as it is to a construction worker.

The Real Story: The Rapid Trajectory

What makes this era so remarkable isn’t just how much AI is being used today, but how fast its use is growing. The study shows that generative AI is being adopted at a faster pace than either the internet or the PC—a staggering fact when you consider the societal impact of those technologies. The question isn’t just about where AI is being used now, but how quickly it’s evolving and embedding itself deeper into the fabric of our cognitive processes. And this reality is accelerated by the emergence of "AI to the power of AI," where technology itself becomes the cognitive engine of transformation.

This exponential growth signals something crucial: The Cognitive Age is characterized by rapid acceleration, not by a fixed point in time. The more AI is adopted, the faster its capabilities expand, creating a feedback loop where technology enhances cognition, and that enhanced cognition in turn drives further technological advancement.

Cognitive Shifts on the Horizon

As AI continues to grow, its applications will only broaden. This study suggests that as more tasks—ranging from creative problem-solving to complex decision-making—become integrated with AI, we’ll see even more profound changes in the workforce. Tasks that were once thought of as exclusively human, such as ethical reasoning or high-level planning, are now being augmented by AI systems that can analyze data and provide insights faster than human cognition alone.

However, the rapid pace of adoption also presents a challenge. As AI becomes more deeply ingrained in our cognitive processes, humans will need to adapt quickly to the shifting landscape. The skills required to succeed will evolve alongside these technologies, requiring constant learning and adjustment, requiring us to become LLLs—Life-Long Learners.

The Future of Thinking

In our Cognitive Age, the story is not about reaching a technological endpoint but about adapting to a continuously accelerating curve. As AI’s capabilities grow, so too will the complexity of the tasks it can perform. The future of human cognition will be shaped by this ongoing partnership with machines, where AI doesn’t just enhance our abilities but redefines what it means to think and create.

Ultimately, it's less about where AI is today and more about where it’s taking us. The rapid adoption of generative AI signals that we are on a trajectory that will continue to accelerate to the point of super-exponential growth, fundamentally reshaping our world and the way we interact with it. We are not just witnesses to technological progress; we are participants in a cognitive revolution where the pace of change is redefining the limits of human potential.