Anthropic's new data shows AI skill builds over time, and that could widen the inequality gap

THE DECODER / 3/28/2026

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Key Points

  • Anthropic’s second Economic Index reports that Claude users tend to improve over time, with performance gains growing as people use the model longer.
  • The index tracks Claude usage across the economy and links sustained usage to better outcomes, suggesting “skill-building” from repeated AI interaction.
  • The findings raise concerns that this learning curve could widen existing inequality gaps if advantaged groups can access more time, training, or support.
  • The report frames AI capability as partly cumulative (experience-dependent), not just a one-time model quality difference.
  • Overall, the data positions AI adoption and usage patterns as major drivers of economic impact, with social distribution effects still uncertain.

Anthropic's second Economic Index tracks how Claude usage is evolving across the economy. One key finding: the longer people use the AI model, the better their results get. That could widen existing inequalities.

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