Regional overview of AI adoption FIGURE 11 0 20 40 60 80 100How are you currently engaging with AI tools? North and East Asia Asia Paciﬁc and Oceania Middle East and North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa24.0% 69.3% 38.7% 52.9% 27.9% 65.8% 29.9% 63.2% Europe and Eurasia Latin America South Asia North America and Caribbean32.9% 62.5% 36.7% 55.1% 34.3% 56.9% 37.7% 49.0% I am enrolled in a course or formal training on AI tools I have not used any AI tools and do not plan to in the near futureI have not used any AI tools yet, but I plan to in the near futureI occasionally use AI tools and learn informally (e.g. through videos or articles)I regularly use AI tools and actively seek to improve my skills 5.0% 2.5% 4.5% 1.9% 3.8%4.3% 3.8% 3.3% 4.0% 3.3% 2.8% 1.0% 3.5% 2.7% 3.2% 2.4% 5.2% 0.8% 0.4% 1.7% 0.9% 0.8% 0.8% 0.7% Across the Global Shapers Community – active in over 150 countries and territories – young leaders are reimagining how societies prepare for the digital age. Shaping Digital Futures is a youth-led initiative bridging the global AI skills gap by defining the competencies that matter most for the future of work – and building the partnerships to deliver them. What makes the initiative distinctive is its multistakeholder approach. Young leaders co-design cutting-edge curricula with partners such as Google and Amazon, ensuring that learning reflects real-world needs while remaining accessible and inclusive. Participants gain not only technical literacy but also the problem-solving and ethical reasoning skills essential for navigating AI responsibly. Already scaling to reach 15,000 learners worldwide, the initiative prioritizes gender equity and open access, ensuring that the benefits of digital transformation are shared broadly. By uniting youth leadership, business expertise and public- sector collaboration, Shaping Digital Futures demonstrates how young people are not waiting to adapt to the digital economy – they are actively shaping it, transforming the AI transition into a pathway for shared prosperity and human- centred innovation.CASE STUDY 3. SHAPING DIGITAL FUTURES Youth-led collaboration is bridging the global AI skills gap through innovation and inclusion Youth Pulse 2026: Insights from the next generation for a changing world 25