Young people have grown increasingly skeptical of artificial intelligence, even those who use it daily, according to a new Gallup poll of more than 1,500 people aged 14 to 29.
There is no decline in AI use among Gen Zers, but there is also no increase since the same poll was conducted in 2025. The latest poll found that AI use was plateauing among young users, accompanied by rising concern about the technology’s consequences.
The findings are significant because Gen Z is “the generation most likely to enter or grow within the workforce over the next decade,” the report notes, meaning that their adoption could determine the trajectory of broader societal AI adoption. Gen Z has already overtaken Boomers in the workforce. Right now, the AI world is preparing for a massive jump in expected demand, and the top tech and financial companies are investing billions upon billions of dollars into building out the supply. Experts have warned that if demand does not pan out exactly as expected in the short term, then it could have disastrous consequences for the economy.
Why do you feel this technology is safe for adults to use if you think its harmful to students?
I absolutely do not. I’m focused on one in-road to AI usage. My mind has been gravitating toward schools as they are run according to local government boards that people can reasonably challenge and get a seat on, and to whom the representatives are much more accountable and much easier to persuade.
It’s a lot more difficult to stop, say, a corporate middle manager from pushing AI on their employees. Though, to that point, employees can leave jobs, where students have much less agency over what the school curriculum is, and could be coerced into AI dependency by that school authority (which I have heard happening). Child and young adult brains are also far more malleable, and I fear AI dependency would have a worse, perhaps irreversible, effect.
Thank you for prompting me to clarify ^^
Where did they say they think it’s safe for adults?