Digital Life
You’ll Be Surprised by These Facts About AI and Teens
Published Date: July 17, 2024
Our surveys can help you explore teens' views and concerns about AI, understand its perceived impact on their future, and learn how organizations can address these issues effectively.
You might think that teens would welcome AI with open arms. After all, it’s a lot of fun... it makes it easy to “write” a paper by simply copying an assignment into a prompt. You can use it to invent new music, and even create awesome images of imaginary worlds. Some teens do embrace AI. But a significant majority of teens are worried. More than 90% have thought about the impact of AI, and 64% of teens across all demographics say they are moderately to very worried about its impact. These concerns about AI are widespread among young people.
For the most part, teens share the same AI concerns as their parents. Could AI leave me unemployed? Could I be conned by an AI scam, and wind up losing all my money? Many also have AI privacy concerns, wondering, "Is AI going to steal my face?" These privacy concerns with AI reflect a broader anxiety about data security and online identity. Says one 12th grader,“GenAI will be used in a lot of design and data analysis jobs. It can completely take over some jobs in those areas, though there will still be humans needed to edit the ideas of GenAI. Its presence has made me search for careers that are safe from AI takeover”
Like many older adults, teens worry about AI as a possible existential threat to humanity.
Among the most pressing concerns about AI is its potential impact on human creativity and the job market. Thirty-seven percent of teens worry that AI will make human-generated content unnecessary, thereby eliminating the need for (or potentially even the desire for) creativity. This could mean fewer teens heading for creative careers in areas such as graphic design, writing, film, or even architecture. This shift is a significant ethical concern with AI, raising questions about the value of human creativity in a technologically advanced world.
A third of teens think AI will become self-aware and target humans. The result would presumably be a Terminator-style takeover of the planet by sentient, computer-based beings. Is this a realistic concern? Almost certainly not. But it's a real one. This doomsday scenario appears heavily promoted on social media, with hundreds of YouTube and TikTok videos available on topics such as "How AI Will Destroy Humanity." These fears, while perhaps unfounded, contribute to the overall concerns about AI among young people.
You might think that teens would welcome AI with open arms. After all, it’s a lot of fun... it makes it easy to “write” a paper by simply copying an assignment into a prompt. You can use it to invent new music, and even create awesome images of imaginary worlds. Some teens do embrace AI. But a significant majority of teens are worried. More than 90% have thought about the impact of AI, and 64% of teens across all demographics say they are moderately to very worried about its impact. These concerns about AI are widespread among young people.
For the most part, teens share the same AI concerns as their parents. Could AI leave me unemployed? Could I be conned by an AI scam, and wind up losing all my money? Many also have AI privacy concerns, wondering, "Is AI going to steal my face?" These privacy concerns with AI reflect a broader anxiety about data security and online identity. Says one 12th grader,“GenAI will be used in a lot of design and data analysis jobs. It can completely take over some jobs in those areas, though there will still be humans needed to edit the ideas of GenAI. Its presence has made me search for careers that are safe from AI takeover”
Like many older adults, teens worry about AI as a possible existential threat to humanity.
Among the most pressing concerns about AI is its potential impact on human creativity and the job market. Thirty-seven percent of teens worry that AI will make human-generated content unnecessary, thereby eliminating the need for (or potentially even the desire for) creativity. This could mean fewer teens heading for creative careers in areas such as graphic design, writing, film, or even architecture. This shift is a significant ethical concern with AI, raising questions about the value of human creativity in a technologically advanced world.
A third of teens think AI will become self-aware and target humans. The result would presumably be a Terminator-style takeover of the planet by sentient, computer-based beings. Is this a realistic concern? Almost certainly not. But it's a real one. This doomsday scenario appears heavily promoted on social media, with hundreds of YouTube and TikTok videos available on topics such as "How AI Will Destroy Humanity." These fears, while perhaps unfounded, contribute to the overall concerns about AI among young people.
How can marketers and service providers to the teen market respond to this ambivalent feeling about AI? Here are some steps you may consider.
- Avoid using obviously artificially created content on social media. While it's more expensive to hire an illustrator or photographer, your content will appear more trustworthy to the average teen.
- When creating interactive experiences for teens, include a real human face and/or voice—even if you use AI to develop some of those experiences.
- Offer real-world opportunities to get to know you, your offerings, or your products. While teens "live" on social media, they need opportunities to engage in the real world.
- If you work with students using artificial intelligence directly, consider providing opportunities for them to learn more about AI—what it is, what it isn't, what it can offer, and what it might take away. Then, help teens take control over a technology that will, no matter what, significantly impact their futures.
Understanding how teens and students use and don't use AI, addressing ethical concerns with AI, and providing educational resources can empower teens to navigate the complexities of this technology.
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