Miami Dade College Trains for the Widening AI Use Gap

AI use has doubled in two years, but who uses it, and how well, is uneven. Miami Dade College is building a path across the gap.

Half the people in the study use AI every week. That sounds like a victory for AI. The details show an AI use gap.

The Reuters Institute at Oxford surveyed about 2,000 people in each of nine countries. In the six it has tracked since 2024, weekly use rose from 34% last year to 51%. Daily use is now 28%, up from 7% in 2024.

Who Is Pulling Ahead

Use is not spread evenly. People in professional jobs, such as investment analysts and engineers, use AI weekly at 64%. Those in elementary occupations, such as cleaners and refuse collectors, sit at 45%.

The authors say AI use may be nearly mandatory in some jobs and optional in others. Pay shows the same split.

Only 18% have paid access, through their own subscription or through work or school. The rest use free versions, which are usually less capable. That means many people have never met the best tools.

AI agents widen the split. Two-thirds of respondents did not use an agent in the past week. Some 14% used one for a real task.

Among daily AI users, 32% used an agent for real work. Among those who use AI less than weekly, it was 6%.

Literacy Is Patchy

The study also tested AI literacy with five true-or-false questions. People answered 74% correctly on average.

That sounds high, but random guessing scores 50%. Respondents did worst on what AI can actually do, at 60%.

The finding that stands out is about trust. People who knew AI’s limits used it and trusted it slightly less.

Knowing more can lead to more caution, not more enthusiasm. The authors cite a widening gap in shared understanding of what the technology can do.

Miami Dade College’s Answer

Miami Dade College is working at both ends of that gap. MAIN reported on the college’s AI Elite Talent Hub.

The program is a 10-month, work-based effort with South Florida employers. Students solve real AI problems and finish with a paid internship in summer 2027.

The first cohort began on Aug. 24. The model gives students a way into the paid, professional side of the divide.

At the other end, MDC is again hosting a free AI bootcamp for high school students, with the Mark Cuban Foundation. MAIN covered the free teen bootcamp.

It runs on three Saturdays, starting Oct. 31, at the college’s North and Kendall campuses. No coding experience is needed.

For working adults, the route is different. Miami AI School’s advanced phase teaches professionals to design, test and deploy AI agents.

The eight-session course is run by eMerge Americas and Miami AI Hub. It aims to move people from using AI tools to building AI systems.

That is the jump the survey shows few people have made.

None of these programs claims to close the gap alone. But each targets a step the survey flags. Teens get a free first look. Students get paid work experience. Professionals get agent training.

South Florida employers can read the data as a hiring cue. The ability to use AI well is becoming a skill gap.

AI use is spreading faster than AI skill. Schools and employers decide who benefits.

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