Young talent wants proof, not AI promises.
Nearly three in four adults under 30 now think AI will take jobs. That number lands in a summer when every company is announcing an AI rollout and none of them are saying what it means for headcount.
Younger workers are using the tools anyway. They just stopped believing the part where it makes their work bigger.
The number comes from a Pew Research Center study that surveyed 3,488 U.S. adults. Among adults under 30, 73 percent say AI will lead to fewer jobs in the U.S. over the next 20 years, up from 61 percent two years ago. For the first time, a majority of that group, 55 percent, says AI in daily life makes them more concerned than excited.
Twelve points in two years
Twelve points in two years. And the group that moved is the one you are trying to hire.
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Two years ago, young adults were the most optimistic working-age group on this question at 61 percent. Now they sit at 73 percent, essentially level with people in their 30s and 40s at 74 percent, and above those 50 to 64 at 72 percent. Pew’s own line is that the youngest adults are now just as likely as everyone from 30 to 64 to expect loss.
That is the finding. Not that young people are worried. That the gap closed.
Young adults are calculating
Most adults under 30 say they use chatbots. Pew found they are just as likely to say those tools hurt their own creativity as help it. Also, they are the age group most likely to think AI will be bad for society and bad for them personally.
Source: www.inc.com
