Some kids will never think AI is cool

Forget cheating Homework and friends chatbot. Some kids are engaging in a new AI trend: believing it’s bad.

In the four years since chatbots became popular and their marketing campaigns ramped up, young people have become increasingly skeptical of the hype surrounding LLM programmes. Yes, many of them still use technology for schoolwork and companionship, but according to market research firm YPulse, 37% of teens ages 13-17 feel frustrated when they see AI content like music and videos, and more than half are concerned about misinformation and deepfakes.

The survey on young people’s attitudes to AI shows a great deal of ambivalence. Adoption rates are high, with the majority of America’s teens reporting they use chatbots, but enthusiasm is mixed. A recent Pew Research Center report found that while many teens believe that AI will be beneficial to them on a personal level, more than a quarter of their group believes that AI will have a negative impact on society in the next 20 years, citing job losses, declining critical thinking skills, and environmental impacts as concerns.

Young people usually eagerly embrace new consumer technology, but Melanie Green, a communications professor at the University of Buffalo, says artificial intelligence is different. This time, the moral panic is not coming from older generations. In fact, children are being turned off by the way AI is being imposed on them by adults and technology companies. They are also “fully aware that whatever disruption happens, their generation will bear the brunt of it,” Green says.

So, eye roll. At Bluesky, parents are bonding over their children’s distrust of AI, with many claiming their children come home saying “this is AI” to mean “this is BS.” On Reddit, teachers say that students — even those using AI — worry about its consequences and can’t stand the art it produces. WIRED spoke with young people, their parents, and their teachers to find out why some kids don’t want to jump on the AI ​​bandwagon.