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What teenagers really think about AI

What teenagers really think about AI

ANDAmerica’s teenagers think addressing the potential risks of artificial intelligence should be a top priority for lawmakers, according to a new survey that provides the first in-depth look at young people’s concerns about the technology.

The pollconducted by the youth advocacy group the Center for Youth and AI and a YouGov poll, shared exclusively with TIME, reveals a level of concern that rivals long-standing issues like social inequality and climate change.

A survey of 1,017 American teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18, conducted in late July and early August, found that 80% of respondents believe it is “extremely” or “somewhat” important for lawmakers to consider the risks associated with artificial intelligence. below access to health care and affordability in terms of the issues they identified as top priorities. This surpassed social inequality (78%) and climate change (77%).

Although the sample size is quite small, it gives insight into how young people think about technology, which is often introduced into their lives from an early age. “I think our generation has a unique perspective,” says 17-year-old Saheb Gulati, who co-founded the Center for Youth and Artificial Intelligence with 19-year-old Jason Hausenloy. – This is not contrary to our age, but precisely because of it. Because today’s teenagers have grown up with digital technology, Gulati says, they face questions about its impact on society more than older generations.

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While there has been more research on how young people use artificial intelligence, for example to help or cheat on schoolwork, says Rachel Hanebutt, an assistant professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Prosperity, who helped advise on the survey analysis, “Some of it might feel a little superficial. and not so focused on what teenagers and young adults think about AI and its role in their future, which I think has a lot of value.”

The results show that almost half of respondents use ChatGPT or similar tools several times a week, compared to the other the last poll this suggests that teenagers have embraced AI more quickly than their parents. But just because we’ve embraced new technologies doesn’t mean we’re “totally optimistic,” says Hausenloy.

Teenagers are at the center of many debates about artificial intelligence, from influence algorithms of social networks to deep fake nudes. It emerged this week that a mother is suing Character.ai and Google over her son’s alleged fascination with the chatbot earlier committing suicide. Still, “the 13-to-18 age group is not always represented in comprehensive political surveys,” Hanebutt says. This research allows adults to better understand “what teenagers and young adults think about artificial intelligence and its role in their future,” not just how they use it, Hanebutt says. She notes that surveys are needed in the future that would investigate the expectations of teenagers for legislators to act on this issue.

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While the survey didn’t ask specific policy questions, it does provide insight into the risks of artificial intelligence that worry the most teens, with immediate threats topping the list. Disinformation created by artificial intelligence worried the largest share of respondents (59%), followed by deep fakes (58%). However, the survey shows that many young people are also worried about the long-term trajectory of the technology, with 47% saying they are worried that advanced autonomous AI could get out of human control. Nearly two-thirds said they consider the implications of artificial intelligence when planning their careers.

Hausenloy says the survey is just the first step in the Center for Youth and Artificial Intelligence’s ambition to ensure “representation, training and advocacy for young people” when it comes to AI.

The survey shows that, despite concerns in other areas, young people are generally supportive of AI-powered creative work. More than half of respondents (57%) are in favor of art, film and music created by AI, and only 26% are against it. Less than a third of teenagers were concerned about AI copyright infringement.

On the issue of friendship with artificial intelligence, respondents’ opinions were divided: 46% believe that communication with artificial intelligence is acceptable, and 44% believe that it is unacceptable. On the other hand, the majority of teenagers (68%) are opposed to romantic relationships with artificial intelligence, compared to only 24% who consider them acceptable.

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“This is the first and most comprehensive look at young people’s attitudes towards AI that I’ve ever seen,” he says Sneha Revanurfounder and president of Encode Justice, a youth-led AI-focused civil society group that helped advise on the survey questions. Revanur was the youngest participant at the White House Roundtable on Artificial Intelligence in July 2023, and more recently the youngest participant at the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos.

In the past, she says, Encode Justice has spoken out on behalf of its generation without hard numbers to back them up, but “we’ll be coming to future meetings with politicians armed with this data, and armed with the fact that we do have quite a few young people who think about these risks.”

More details: US voters prefer safe AI development over competition with China, poll shows

She points to California Senate Bill 1047, which required AI companies to implement safeguards to protect the public from potential harm caused by their technology, as a case where public concerns about the technology were ignored. “In California, we just saw Governor Gavin Newsom veto a sweeping AI safety bill that was supported by a broad coalition, including our organization Anthropic, Elon Musk, actors in Hollywood and trade unions,” Revanur says. “This was the first time we saw this split in the narrative that the public doesn’t care about AI politics. And I think this survey is just another crack in that narrative.”