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There is reason for this shifting sentiment. As AI use increased, so did reports of its adverse impact on things like mental health, war, government, job market, and the environment. The result has been a growing distaste for AI as a concept and more dissent against the unprecedented data center buildout meant to service it.

The impact has been especially rough for Gen Z. Cases of vulnerable teens allegedly being guided by AI chatbots to end their lives have gripped headlines in the past year, while studies have linked corporate AI initiatives to a hostile job market for young graduates. Artificial intelligence is relatively good at automating stuff that an early-career worker would be expected to fulfill at a company, which some experts believe has led to a decrease in hiring. The Irish government reported a link between slowing employment for young workers and AI adoption earlier this year, and last year, Fed Chair Jerome Powell admitted that AI is probably a factor in the dismal young graduate employment rates in the U.S.

The trend threatens not only the careers of young workers but the future of the workforce in general, as young workers have less access to crucial on-the-job training that they normally would have gone through in their 20s.

Working young adults in the survey were also significantly more likely to say that the risks of AI outweigh or equal the benefits. Thirty-eight percent said AI would do more harm than good for creativity, and 42% said the same for critical thinking. There is also decreasing confidence in the belief that AI helps complete work faster, down 10 points since last year. But 56% still believe it can speed up work. Gallup also found that Gen Z is losing faith in AI’s ability to help accelerate learning. That metric was down 7 points at 46%.

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