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How many people in Massachusetts are using AI right now? What data shows

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How many people in Massachusetts are using AI right now? What data shows


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One in three Massachusetts residents use generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Claude, according to Microsoft data.

Generative AI can create words, music, pictures, or videos, based on user prompts. For example, if you type a prompt asking for a fictional story, the AI tool will generate a passage with a setting, characters, and plot.

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About 33.4% of working-age residents in Massachusetts use these tools, placing the state 11th in the U.S., according to Q1 2026 data. Hampshire County, home to the Five College Consortium, has the highest AI usage rate, at 45.1%.

Microsoft found that counties with more employment in professional and technical services, corporate management, healthcare, information and media, and finance tend to have higher AI usage. Additionally, counties with larger shares of residents ages 18 to 24 tend to have higher levels of AI usage.

Counties with larger shares of workers in manufacturing, agriculture, mining, oil and gas, and construction tend to have lower AI usage, according to Microsoft.

The figures are based on anonymized Microsoft usage data and adjusted for differences in devices, operating systems, internet access, and population size.

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Top Massachusetts counties by generative AI usage

Here are Massachusetts’ 14 counties ranked by generative AI usage in Quarter 1 of 2026, and how they rank nationally, according to Microsoft:

  1. Hampshire County – 45.1% of residents (#28 nationally)
  2. Middlesex County – 37.9% of residents (#118 nationally)
  3. Suffolk County – 35.6% of residents (#191 nationally)
  4. Norfolk County – 34.3% of residents (#233 nationally)
  5. Worcester County – 33.5% of residents (#265 nationally)
  6. Plymouth County – 32.9% of residents (#283 nationally)
  7. Essex County – 30.8% of residents (#385 nationally)
  8. Bristol County – 28.2% of residents (#553 nationally)
  9. Hampden County – 27.1% of residents (#645 nationally)
  10. Barnstable County – 25.5% of residents (#790 nationally)
  11. Berkshire County – 24.7% of residents (#878 nationally)
  12. Nantucket County – 24.1% of residents (#937 nationally)
  13. Franklin County – 23.8% of residents (#961 nationally)
  14. Dukes County – 15.4% of residents (#2,450 nationally)

Top states by generative AI usage

Here are the 50 states ranked by generative AI usage in Quarter 1 of 2026, according to Microsoft:

  1. Maryland (24 counties) – 36.3% of residents
  2. Utah (29 counties) – 35.7% of residents
  3. Texas (254 counties) – 35.3% of residents
  4. Virginia (133 counties) – 34.7% of residents
  5. New Jersey (21 counties) – 34.5% of residents
  6. Nevada (17 counties) – 34.2% of residents
  7. California (58 counties) – 34.0% of residents
  8. Connecticut (9 counties) – 34.0% of residents
  9. Georgia (159 counties) – 33.7% of residents
  10. Florida (67 counties) – 33.6% of residents
  11. Massachusetts (14 counties) – 33.4% of residents
  12. Illinois (102 counties) – 33.3% of residents
  13. New York (62 counties) – 32.7% of residents
  14. Rhode Island (5 counties) – 32.5% of residents
  15. Colorado (64 counties) – 32.3% of residents
  16. Washington (39 counties) – 32.2% of residents
  17. Arizona (15 counties) – 31.4% of residents
  18. Hawaii (5 counties) – 30.6% of residents
  19. Delaware (3 counties) – 30.6% of residents
  20. New Hampshire (10 counties) – 30.2% of residents
  21. North Carolina (100 counties) – 30.1% of residents
  22. South Carolina (46 counties) – 29.1% of residents
  23. Oklahoma (77 counties) – 28.9% of residents
  24. Idaho (44 counties) – 28.8% of residents
  25. Kansas (105 counties) – 28.6% of residents
  26. Tennessee (95 counties) – 28.5% of residents
  27. Oregon (36 counties) – 28.4% of residents
  28. Ohio (88 counties) – 28.3% of residents
  29. Wisconsin (72 counties) – 28.2% of residents
  30. North Dakota (53 counties) – 28.2% of residents
  31. Michigan (83 counties) – 27.4% of residents
  32. South Dakota (66 counties) – 27.4% of residents
  33. Alabama (67 counties) – 27.3% of residents
  34. Pennsylvania (67 counties) – 27.2% of residents
  35. Indiana (92 counties) – 26.8% of residents
  36. Missouri (114 counties, 1 independent city) – 26.8% of residents
  37. Nebraska (93 counties) – 26.4% of residents
  38. Minnesota (87 counties) – 26.3% of residents
  39. Louisiana (64 parishes) – 26.1% of residents
  40. Arkansas (75 counties) – 26.0% of residents
  41. Wyoming (23 counties) – 25.5% of residents
  42. Kentucky (120 counties) – 25.1% of residents
  43. Iowa (99 counties) – 24.4% of residents
  44. New Mexico (33 counties) – 23.9% of residents
  45. Alaska (19 organized boroughs, 1 unorganized borough) – 23.6% of residents
  46. Vermont (14 counties) – 23.3% of residents
  47. Mississippi (82 counties) – 22.9% of residents
  48. Montana (56 counties) – 22.7% of residents
  49. Maine (16 counties) – 21.4% of residents
  50. West Virginia (55 counties) – 20.8% of residents

Clare Mulroy of USA TODAY contributed to this report.



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Gas prices in Massachusetts dip below $4 a gallon for first time in 2 months

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Gas prices in Massachusetts dip below  a gallon for first time in 2 months


Gas prices dipped below $4 a gallon in Massachusetts Thursday for the first time in exactly two months.

According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of regular gas in Massachusetts is now $3.99, down from $4.02 on Wednesday.

That’s the first time the average fell below the $4 mark since April 25.

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The national average on Thursday was $3.92 a gallon, AAA said. That average was above $4 for nearly three months before it fell to $3.99 a week ago on June 18.

Gas prices rose sharply after the war between the U.S. and Iran started on February 28.

A spokesperson for GasBuddy, which also tracks fuel price data, said the national average has been dropping for six weeks as the “recent U.S.-Iran framework agreement has helped ease supply fears.”

The company said the national average should keep falling to $3.75 by July 4.

“Six weeks of declines sounds like good news, and in some ways it is, but the context matters,” Patrick De Haan, a petroleum expert at GasBuddy, said in a statement Thursday.

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“At roughly $3.75, this would be the second most expensive July 4 ever recorded, roughly 65 cents higher than last year and nearly $1 above where prices started in 2026. The U.S.-Iran agreement gives markets hope, but it’s being tested, and any breakdown in those talks could reverse the recent relief quickly. Drivers should use every tool available to find the lowest prices near them before filling up.”

A year ago at this time, the average price for a gallon of gas in Massachusetts was $3.10, according to AAA.

The all-time high in the state is $5.05 a gallon, set back in June 2022



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Massachusetts man accused of wanting sex with girl busted in World Cup trafficking operation

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Massachusetts man accused of wanting sex with girl busted in World Cup trafficking operation


A Massachusetts man who allegedly looked to have sex with a 15-year-old girl and bring drugs and alcohol to the meet-up has been arrested during a crackdown on human trafficking amid the World Cup.

Richard Lallier, 34, of Rehoboth, is one of 13 individuals who face exploitation and trafficking charges stemming from an operation that the FBI Boston has partnered on with the Massachusetts State Police and Rhode Island State Police during the global soccer tournament, dubbed “Operation Red Card.”

“Participating agencies emphasized that while major international sporting events bring significant economic and cultural benefits to host communities,” the Rhode Island State Police said in a statement on Tuesday, “they may also create opportunities for traffickers and those who exploit vulnerable populations.”

“Law enforcement agencies throughout the region remain committed to proactive enforcement efforts designed to deter human trafficking, identify victims, and hold offenders accountable,” the State Police added.

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The Rhode Island State Police arrested six individuals, including Lallier, while the Massachusetts State Police apprehended seven suspects during a five-day operation between June 12 and 16.

The suspects arrested in Massachusetts range in age between 21 and 71, all of whom have been arraigned on state charges of sex for a fee with a child under 18, enticement of a child under 16, and attempted rape of a child.

In Rhode Island, Lallier, with a last known address in Rehoboth, is being held without bail on charges of attempted enticement, attempted interstate travel for sexual contact with a minor under 16 years old, and attempted transmission of obscene material to a minor.

Lindsay Laurie, a Rhode Island state trooper who went undercover to operate a Facebook profile that featured “age-regressed images” of herself, said in an affidavit that she informed Lallier via Messenger that he was speaking to a 15-year-old.

In response, Lallier, who went by the name of “Frank Land” on Facebook, allegedly said he was 34 years old before he asked for a “naughty video.”

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Lallier also allegedly “sent multiple videos of his penis” to the undercover profile.

Two days later, last Wednesday, Lallier messaged the undercover profile again, explaining that he wanted to find “snow,” a “code word for cocaine,” Laurie stated. Lallier said he would “bring weed and fireball” to a meetup.

Last Friday, after Lallier confirmed to the undercover profile that he arrived in Rhode Island’s Lincoln Woods State Park, authorities arrested him, according to Laurie’s affidavit.

Major international events, such as the World Cup, lead to “large-scale travel” and “increased demand for lodging,” creating “opportunities for criminal exploitation,” according to Michael Soper, the program director of Boston Hotel Watch, an intelligence network connecting hotels and law enforcement.

Soper pointed to the “rapid expansion of short-term rental platforms” in creating a “significant and evolving challenge” to prevent human trafficking since the accommodations often have “less oversight, fewer standardized security protocols, and limited participation in established reporting networks.”

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“As a result,” Soper said in a statement shared with the Herald, “illicit activity may occur outside the visibility of hospitality professionals and law enforcement partnerships, making the full scope of the problem difficult to measure.”



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Arlington Nonprofit Receives Statewide Grant Funding

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Arlington Nonprofit Receives Statewide Grant Funding


“We are proud to support this remarkable group of nonprofit organizations and the essential work they do across Massachusetts,” Sincere Foundation Executive Director Rebecca Reiner said in a statement. “Their collective impact strengthens communities throughout the Commonwealth and we are honored to help advance their efforts.”

According to the foundation, grant recipients were selected across three focus areas: food security, housing stability, and safe spaces. Organizations receiving support in the food security category alongside Food Link include The Open Door in Gloucester, Worcester County Food Bank, Food For Free, and other nonprofits working to increase access to nutritious food.





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