Gen Z Leads the Charge: Born into Tech, Most Wary of AI

A new Gallup study reveals a surprising trend: the generation born into technology, Gen Z, is the most skeptical of artificial intelligence. Only 22% of Americans aged 14 to 29 feel excited about AI, a drop of 14 points in a single year.

This isn't technophobia, it's experience. Having lived through the unanticipated costs of social media-eroded attention spans, weakened real-world friendships-Gen Z sees AI's potential for a similar cognitive toll.

Eighty percent believe AI use will make it harder to learn. Forty-two percent think it will harm their ability to think carefully. In the workplace, 48% say AI's risks outweigh the benefits, and 69% trust human work over AI-assisted output.

These concerns are about cognition itself. They are not about job displacement. This generation, still building its mental muscles, is sounding a warning older generations might be wise to heed: do not trade critical thinking for convenience.