Some Kids Won’t Think AI Is Cool

Forget the tricks homework and friends chatbot. Some kids are starting a new way for AI: thinking it’s hard.

In the four years since chatbots went viral, and their marketing campaigns continued, young people are beginning to question the magic surrounding LLMs. Yes, many of them still use technology for schoolwork and socializing, but according to market research firm YPulse, 37 percent of 13- to 17-year-olds are upset when they see AI content such as music and videos, and more than half are concerned about fake and deep content.

Polling on young AI ideas shows a lot of controversy. Adoption rates are high, and many young Americans report using chatbots, but interest is mixed. A recent report by Pew Research found that although many young people think that AI will be good for them, more than a quarter of their group believes that AI will have a negative impact on society in the next 20 years, in terms of job losses, reduced thinking skills, and environmental effects such as anxiety.

Young people often take new technology to shopping with enthusiasm, but Melanie Green, a professor of communication at the University at Buffalo, says AI is different. This time, the fear of behavior isn’t coming from older generations—in fact, kids are being turned off by how AI is being pushed on them by adults and tech companies. They’re also, Green says, “very aware that any mess that happens, their generation is going to have a big problem.”

Therefore, interest rates. On Bluesky, parents bond over their kids’ distrust of AI, and many say their kids come home saying “that’s AI” when they mean “that’s BS.” On Reddit, teachers share that students—even those who use AI—are worried about the results and can’t handle the technology it creates. WIRED spoke to teens, their parents, and their teachers to find out why some kids don’t want to be part of the AI ​​community.