Gen Z Thinks AI Is Rotting Their Brains, But Can’t Stop Using It: Survey

Gen Z hates AI, but they can’t use it either, according to new data Gallup poll released this week.

The survey, which was conducted from February 24 to March 4 by the Walton Family Foundation, GSV Ventures, and Gallup, asked 1,572 Americans between the ages of 14 and 29. About 51% still use artificial intelligence at least weekly—up 4% from last year.

AI usage among GenZ is on the rise, but interest is waning.

Enthusiasm about AI has dropped by 14 percent to just 22 percent. Expectations fell by 9 points to 18%. Anger rose 9 points to 31%. This is not a permanent change.

And these bad ideas reach even the most demanding users. Among Gen Zers who use AI daily, happiness has dropped 18 points over the year. “In general, Gen Zers have been more skeptical, worse—from where even last year, they weren’t sure about it,” he said. he said Zach Hrynowski, senior education researcher at Gallup.

8 out of 10 Gen Zers believe that relying on AI to get work done quickly could make learning more difficult in the future, showing a fear of relying on a tool that makes them worse at the things it helps them do.

This subject has been studied before. Scientists find out if AI makes you stupid back in 2024, and the verdict was grim: Overreliance on tools like ChatGPT has been linked to procrastination and poor student memory.

Apart from the concern about the decline of information technology, users are also worried about how AI will affect their creativity. Only 31% of Gen Z respondents believe that AI helps them come up with new ideas, up from 42% last year. Only 37% believe they have accurate information, up from 43%. This is followed by other studies that show this generative AI hurts the originalmaximizing individual output while reducing the variance of total production activities.

Suspicion at work is high. Almost half of Gen Zers – 48% – now say the risks of AI outweigh its benefits in the workplace, an 11-point jump from last year. Only 15% see them as good at their jobs. Less than 20% would choose AI over a human for services such as coaching, financial advice, or customer support. Reliance on AI-assisted work stands at 28%, compared to 69% for human output alone.

One of these is a legitimate fear, considering AI he has already moved white collar jobs faster than predicted, and Gen Z is seeing this happen as they enter the workforce. Sydney Gill, a 19-year-old freshman at Rice University, he said and New York Times: “I feel like everything I love can be replaced, even in the next few years.” Gallup is different learning found that 42% of bachelor’s degree students reconsidered their college major because of AI.

Almost three parts of K-12 schools now have AI policies—up 23 in one year—but many laws have not created more trust. If anything, they will foster a sense of dishonesty in education: 41% of students believe that many of their classmates are using AI in school when they shouldn’t be.

“What we’re seeing in the data is a generation that recognizes the importance of AI but is more concerned about how it affects learning, trust and career readiness,” said Stephanie Marken, senior partner at Gallup. “Their growing skepticism highlights the need for deeper integration of these tools into all schools and workplaces.”

Gen Z is supposed to be the proof of the concept of AI – the generation that came from digital devices so that adopting a child will not be difficult and the interest can be self-reliant. Instead, the data shows a group that uses AI mostly out of necessity, distrusts what it produces, and worries that the shortcut is making them worse in the long game. Even top scientists do he began to agree AI does a lot of their thinking now – which may explain why Gen Z, watching this happen, isn’t really motivated.