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.
I’m realizing it’s not GenAI itself that I necessarily am bothered by, it’s that it just makes everyone that already annoyed me even worse.
People that flood the internet with low-value clickbait? Well now they can flood even more, even more text, lots of video.
People that see a popular content creator that puts out good stuff and then tries to do a knock off? Now I might see that knock-off for 15 seconds before I realize that the thing is trash.
People that like to tell everyone else how to do their jobs that they themselves have no experience about? Well here’s GenAI to make them claim they can do someone’s job better.
Megalomaniac billionaires with messiah complexes? Well, GenAI makes them think they are gods. Elon’s Grok even just casually drops Elon praise into content for no reason.
Executives that view themselves as “thought leaders” and are dismissive of their employees? Yeah, they are itching to lay off some people.