How Does Gen Z View and Use AI?

We always love to see new research that focuses on students and AI like this new report from TeachAI and EY, which provides some interesting findings about how Gen Z perceives and uses AI, exploring 3 key areas:

• How does Gen Z use AI and with what level of literacy?

• How do they think AI will impact their lives?

• What AI skills does Gen Z feel they need most?

A few key takeaways:

• 61% are already experimenting and practicing with AI in both structured and unstructured ways

• Social media was far and away the most common source for information on AI

• They believe AI use would be discouraged in schools, but welcomed in workplaces showing a similar disconnect to what we are seeing in high schools and colleges

Evidence of AI Literacy Gaps

While Gen Z scored well on questions related to identifying which products and services use or could benefit from AI, gaps in Gen Z's AI literacy existed around two primary areas:

• Effectively using AI, especially with prompt engineering where metacognitive skills play a big role

• Understanding risks and key limitations of AI tools, how they are built, and rules around the data they can use

The report does a great job of highlighting the importance of a collaborative approach to AI literacy, particularly given Gen Z's tendency toward self-directed learning and the disconnect in their view on AI use in academic versus professional contexts. A coordinated effort among educators, businesses, governments, and non-profits is essential to providing them with knowledge, skills, and critical thinking needed to effectively navigate the evolving AI landscape.

Read the full report here.