Gen Z takes on AI 🤖

daily AI habits, AI @ work, Gen(der) AI divides

Hi! You may notice a different look and feel to this newsletter. We’ve been asking ourselves - how do we consistently and repeatably share valuable insights on Gen Z via our substack? Experimenting with formats & themes, we landed on 24/Z - a curated home for Gen Z insights & research.

Our goal is to publish this weekly, giving you new research via a fresh Gen Z poll 📊 from our team each and every week.

This is a V1 - and we’re excited to hear your thoughts!! Enjoy :)

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This week in 24/Z, we’ve seen a surge in new research aiming to understand Gen Z’s relationship with artificial intelligence, both inside the workplace and out.

Below, we take a look at Slack’s new AI workforce study, Common Sense Media’s teens x AI daily habits study, new research we ran on AI use outside of the workplace, and highlight some key unanswered/unaddressed questions emerging from this new data.

📰 new research…

AI isn't a daily habit yet for teens, young adults (Axios)

Trending on LinkedIn this week was new research from Common Sense Media on Gen Z’s use of AI tools daily.

• “Out of 1,274 respondents aged 14-22, just 4% said they use AI tools daily. Meanwhile, 41% said they've never used AI and 8% said they don't know what it is.”

More notable was this statistic from the research:

• Black Gen Z respondents, followed by Latinx Gen Z’ers, were significantly more likely - across all reasons of use - to use generative AI than White Gen Z respondents.

  

Despite AI enthusiasm, Workforce Index reveals workers aren’t yet unlocking its benefits (Slack)

Slack also published a new workforce report this week on AI use in the workplace.

A few notable takeaways:

• 55% of Gen Z’ers (18-29) surveyed were excited for AI to handle parts of their job, more than any other age group.

In this research, we also found a troubling divide. Male Gen Z’ers were significantly more likely to use AI than female Gen Z’ers, and this divide extended across generations surveyed.

• 45% of Male 18-29 year-olds reported they have used AI for work, compared to only 36% of female 18-29 year-olds. Gen Z men are 25% more likely to have tried AI tools compared to Gen Z women.

🧪 dcdx Gen Z research on AI

We polled Gen Z’ers from our network of 300,000+ to understand their use of AI outside of work or school. As AI integrates more and more into our daily lives, understanding how Gen Z’ers are using it - and how they are not - will be critical to the technology’s integration into our world.

Q: Outside of work or school, what do you use AI for the most?

Total responses: 715

• 9.37% (67) personal advice - relationships, friends…

• 17.48% (125) life logistics - finance, travel, etc

• 15.10% (108) hobbies - creativity, cooking, exercise, etc

• 58.04% (415) I don’t use AI at all

Outside of work or school, the majority of Gen Z’ers are not using AI at all. That percentage seems to be similar to the Slack data shared for Gen Z’ers not using AI at work, at around 59%.

So it would appear that Gen Z’ers using AI for work, are also using it outside of work, and those young people not using AI are not using it in any part of their lives.

🧠 what we’re thinking…

Why is Gen Z not leading the AI charge?

Gen Z has always been referred to as Digital Natives. Born with technology at their fingertips, and hyper-aware of the way technology and social media are shaping their world. So why, then, are they not leading the AI charge?

While they are Digital Natives, they are also Digital Captives. Being born into this world of technology has meant not just that we happen to be proficient at using it, but that we also have grown a complex relationship with it.

We know from our research on Digital Captives that nearly 1 in 2 Gen Z'ers wish social media was easier to disconnect from; a technological advance [social media] that for all the good it has caused, has also complicated and challenged the health of many Gen Z'ers.

So perhaps the AI hesitance is due to a first-hand experience of the consequences of mass technological adoption without any thoughts of how it may impact us down the line. What we may need is more upstream thinking and protection - but then again, has regulation ever come before revenue?

What do we do about the AI divide?

• The differences in use across genders and races for Gen Z is one to focus on - what will the impact of this divide be in the workplace? And in daily life? Will it help level the playing field or will it further existing divisions?

• There’s also a question of the difference in use overall - it seems like only ~ 4 in 10 Gen Z’ers are actively using AI in general (work or play). What will be the triggers that bring in the remaining 60%?

🗃️ more on Gen Z and AI

• Facebook reveals new plan to woo Gen Z users back to the platform (Mashable) Apparently AI is the key to this plan…?

• AI in dating for Gen Z - Bumble’s Whitney Wolfe Herd says your dating ‘AI concierge’ will soon date hundreds of other people’s ‘concierges’ for you (Fortune)

• AI in gaming for Gen Z - PlayStation Exec Says AI Is Important to Gen Z and Gen Alpha Gamers Who Want 'Personalization Across Everything' (MSN)

  Head of PlayStation Productions and Head of Product at PlayStation Studios Asad Qizilbash

  "Advancements in AI will create more personalized experiences and meaningful stories for consumers," Qizilbash said. "For instance, non player characters in games could interact with players based on their actions, making it feel more personal. This is important for the younger Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences, who are the first generations that grew up digitally and are looking for personalization across everything, as well as looking for experiences to have more meaning."

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Thanks for reading our first version of 24/Z! We’d love your thoughts on this new format.