Gen Z adopts AI faster than any other generation, yet its take on AI-generated content is the exact opposite of what you might expect.
Seventy-two percent of Gen Zers hold negative or cautious views of AI-generated content. Forty-one percent hold firmly negative views and believe AI Slop is diminishing the value of content.
One explanation is that AI is changing so quickly that we're only just now beginning to see the backlash in studies. I'm not buying that as a sole explanation, though.
Another way to look at it is that we've consistently conflated a number of concepts and rolled them up under the umbrella of AI. This comes up in a number of my conversations about AI - that even when no LLM is involved, people will describe the automation of tedious and repeatable tasks as "AI."
I think there's some conflation at work there, and that automation accounts for some of the adoption, and thus some of the contradiction.
I still can't get out of my head, though, a Gallup survey showing that GenZ adults tend to use AI for supporting work tasks - getting alternative points of view, breaking down complex tasks into smaller more digestible chunks, and developing frameworks for attacking problems.
In short, Gen Z adults want to use AI in a supporting role, like many businesses want them to.
There is, however, deep skepticism. The same survey shows concerns about offloading cognitive work and its long-term effects on skill-building, intelligence and work ethic.
There is another contributing factor, and it's a big one: Compulsion.
US News & World Report, writing about the same study, highlighted a quote from the study's author. Summing up the respondents' thinking, he said "Even if it makes me anxious, even if I think it’s potentially harming my cognition, it’s here to stay. It’s being integrated into my schools, it’s being integrated into my workplaces, and I’m going to need to know how to use it."
In other words, Gen Z AI adoption is driven in part by indoctrination. You might consider that a strong word, but I challenge you to find a better one to describe a situation where deep skepticism is being met by educational and work environments plowing forward in spite of it.