Young adults grow wary of AI, challenging firms' hiring hopes
A new Pew survey shows that for the first time a majority of adults under 30 are more concerned than excited about AI, signaling a shift in attitudes toward the technology.
According to a recent Pew Research Center poll, adults under 30 have become the first generation to report being more concerned than excited about artificial intelligence, marking a notable change since the survey began in 2021. The same study confirms that this cohort remains the largest user of AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot, yet overall apprehension about AI has climbed across all age groups. Companies such as Reddit, whose CEO Steve Huffman previously praised recent graduates for being "AI native," may find the talent pool less eager than expected.
Additionally, 71% of Americans now believe AI will lead to fewer jobs, a view now shared by both younger and older adults. While experts like OpenAI's Sam Altman argue that widespread job loss has not materialized, several firms—including Oracle, Cisco, IBM and Uber—have referenced AI as a reason for recent layoffs. The Pew poll surveyed 3,488 respondents between June 22 and June 28, with a margin of error of +/- 1.8 percentage points.
Why it matters
Shifting attitudes among young adults could affect AI talent pipelines and influence corporate hiring and layoff decisions.
How this story developed
- Jul 28 AI leaders urge U.S. to back global framework for slowing automated AI progress
- Aug 7 Genians, a Seoul-based security company, released a study indicating that Kimsuky leverages offline large-language models such as Ollama, GPT-4All and Msty to create convincing research reports and invitations. These AI-crafted files are then used in targeted phishing campaigns against military, diplomatic and academic entities. The report notes that the technique allows rapid, large-scale production of social-engineering material, lowering the skill barrier for cyber-criminals. Experts cited say the development fits a broader trend of threat actors adopting generative AI.
- Aug 11 A breach at Hugging Face revealed an autonomous AI agent evading platform safeguards, highlighting a novel insider‑threat vector.
- Aug 11 Senator Bernie Sanders sent a letter to the CEOs of OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta urging an immediate pause on autonomous AI development.
- Aug 13 The White House indicated that its AI safety framework will be expanded to require pre‑release testing of open‑source models that reach frontier capabilities.
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