Марія Бровінська AI Eng 3 May 2026, 11:58

The more buzzers use AI, the more they hate it. What's happening?

It’s been nearly three years since Silicon Valley began aggressively pushing chatbots like ChatGPT as the inevitable future of everything. And no group has felt the pressure more acutely than Generation Z.

Despite the stereotype of lazy youth looking for easy ways, buzzers are voicing some of the loudest and most detailed objections to generative AI. New Gallup data shows that just 18% of Gen Zers say they feel hopeful about the technology, down from 27% last year. The share of those who believe the risks of AI outweigh the benefits has risen 11 points in a year, to nearly 50%.

They use it, but they don’t believe it.

According to The Verge, 74% of young Americans use a chatbot at least once a month. At the same time, 79% are concerned that AI is making people lazier, and 65% believe that chatbots interfere with critical thinking. Eight in ten admit that using AI to speed up work makes it more difficult to learn in the future.

A study by the MIT Media Lab confirms these concerns: EEG scans of the brain showed reduced activity in people writing essays using AI. The process of «cognitive unloading» weakens skepticism and the ability to distinguish truth from lies.

Between two lights

Young people are caught in a paradox: they are told that AI will destroy millions of jobs — and at the same time that they must use it or they will be left behind. Meg Aubuchon, a 27-year-old art teacher in Los Angeles, has taken a radical approach: «It makes me want to find a career where I never have to use AI — even if it pays less.»

Sharon Freystaetter, 25, had a computer science degree and worked as a cloud engineer for three years at a large Silicon Valley company. She then left, citing ethical concerns and concerns about the environmental impact of data centers. She now works in the food service industry and turns off AI features in any apps she can.

Universities under fire

Students are watching university administrations clumsily implement AI into their teaching, sign multimillion-dollar deals with OpenAI and Anthropic, and reshape curricula around chatbots. The editorial board of the University of Pennsylvania’s student newspaper wrote a scathing op-ed: «AI cannot coexist with education—it can only destroy it.»

Researcher Alex Hanna of the DAIR Institute explains this logic bluntly: «Universities are hearing from employers that they want students who can use these tools. Not because the tools have proven their value—they want Gen Z to show them where that value is.»

AI has become «socially toxic»

There’s also a cultural dimension: the use of AI has become the subject of mockery on social media. Most young people see it as inauthentic and «downright uncool» — especially when it replaces the creative process. According to a study by the University of Pittsburgh, students perceive their classmates’ use of AI as a «red flag» and start to think less of them.

Emma Gottlieb, who works in technical sales, bluntly sums up the position of many of her peers: «I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s complete nonsense to outsource work.» She herself uses AI to quickly review technical documents — but always checks the results manually.

Researchers are most worried not about today’s twenty-somethings, but about Generation Alpha—children who are growing up with AI as part of everything and may simply not know that they have the right to question it.

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