The more young people use AI, the more they hate it

The Verge / 4/30/2026

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Key Points

  • Nearly three years after major tech companies promoted large language model chatbots as the future of many tasks, Gen Z appears to be experiencing unusually strong backlash against AI.
  • Polling data suggests that younger students and workers are not only adopting AI chatbot tools but also form a significant part of broader cultural resistance to AI.
  • The article contrasts corporate narratives from companies like OpenAI and Google with survey findings showing widespread negative or hostile attitudes among many young users.
  • Despite continued use of these tools, a substantial share of young people reportedly remain deeply critical of them.
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  • 生成AIチャットボット(例:ChatGPT)の「不可避の未来」論をシリコンバレーが強く推し進めてから約3年が経ちましたが、特にGen ZではAIに対する反発が際立っているようです。
  • 調査データでは、若い世代の学生や働き手はAIチャットボットを利用するだけでなく、より広い文化的なAIへの抵抗の一部を大きく担っていると示唆されています。
  • OpenAIやGoogleのような企業側の語り(AIは未来であるという物語)と、若年層の多くに見られる否定的・敵対的な感情を示す調査結果を対比しています。
  • ツール自体は使い続けているものの、若者の相当数がそれに対して深い批判的姿勢を持っているとされています。
Thumbs down from robot symbolizing dislike of AI by the youths

It's been almost three years since Silicon Valley started aggressively pushing large language model-based chatbots like ChatGPT as the supposedly inevitable future of everything, and there's no group that has felt the pressure quite like Gen Z.

Like with many tech trends before it, it's no surprise that young people are among the biggest adopters of AI chatbot tools. But contrary to the tales spun by tech companies like OpenAI and Google, polling data shows that Gen Z students and workers are a big part of the wider cultural backlash against AI. And even as they utilize these tools, vast swaths of young people are deeply acrimonious and eve …

Read the full story at The Verge.