Photographer: Onur Binay | Source: Unsplash 1. Introduction: The Death of the Plastic Card? Think back to the last time you needed to prove who you were. Perhaps you were clearing security at an airport, opening a high-yield savings account, or picking up a controlled prescription at the pharmacy. In each instance, you performed a familiar ritual: reaching into your physical wallet for a piece of laminated plastic. That ritual is disappearing before our eyes. This shift isn’t just about convenience—or even about the broader trend toward cashless payments . We are witnessing a fundamental re-architecting of trust. The phone in your pocket is becoming more than a communication tool. It is becoming a cryptographic anchor of your legal existence via Verifiable Digital Credentials (VDCs) stored in digital wallets . VDCs are not just digital photos of cards. They represent a complex, invisible architecture that keeps your digital presence as secure —and as real—as your physical one, while...
AI Usage is Becoming More Equitable A major finding is the drop in AI concentration among top-performing states . From August 2025 to February 2026, the per-person AI usage share in the top five states fell from 30% to 24%. This suggests AI tools are more accessible nationwide, not just in tech-heavy areas. The Gini coefficient—a measure of inequality—also declined, signaling a more balanced distribution of AI adoption. This trend shows AI is spreading beyond major tech hubs, allowing smaller states to catch up and contribute fresh innovation and applications—often by shipping Claude-powered applications through the Claude platform or the claude api, supported by comprehensive api guides and other anthropic resources. AI Usage Patterns Reflect Workforce Trends The report notes higher AI adoption in states with workforces concentrated in creative and knowledge-based industries . For example, states with more workers in arts, design, and media see higher per-capita use of Claude, while s...