A new survey reveals that a significant portion of young people in the United States considers artificial intelligence a threat. This study reinforces the perception that most young Americans, aged 18 to 34, harbor distrust towards AI leaders and express apprehension about the effects of this technology on their professional futures.
The survey was conducted by CNBC in collaboration with Generation Labs, covering 1,088 participants in this age group. The results showed that all evaluated executives associated with the AI race presented a negative confidence balance.
Rejection exceeded 70% for names such as Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sam Altman. In addition to distrust, young people demonstrated pessimism regarding the technology-driven job market, with 45% believing that AI will bring negative consequences to their career paths.
The confidence measurement focused on AI-linked executives, none of whom achieved a positive result. The highest levels of distrust were observed in figures linked to Palantir, a company known for its work with analyzing vast amounts of data. Specifically, 81% of respondents stated they did not trust CEO Alex Karp and board chairman Peter Thiel. Immediately following, Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, registered 76% distrust.
The feeling of apprehension regarding AI was already visible at graduation events in the United States. A notable example occurred when former Google CEO Eric Schmidt faced boos at the University of Arizona during his talk on technological advancements. The current CEO of the same company also faced reaction from graduates at Stanford, where dozens of students left the ceremony when he was called to the stage, as reported by the BBC. This protest focused on the company's contracts with governments, particularly those related to AI.
Students' criticisms are also intertwined with their political views. The CNBC study indicated that 78% of respondents consider the country's economy as 'bad,' 'very bad,' or 'could not be worse.' Resistance extends to AI infrastructure; according to the survey, 60% of young people advocate for a slowdown in the construction of new data centers, while only 15% support accelerating these projects.
For some participants, the advancement of AI also raises questions about the physical and economic scale required to maintain the technology. Data centers, fundamental to the expansion of generative AI, have been subject to environmental criticism due to high water and energy consumption. Consumers of common electronics also feel the effect of this scenario, as directing a large part of semiconductor factories to meet the demand of new centers is causing significant increases in the prices of everyday parts and devices. It is estimated that investments by major technology companies in infrastructure for AI exceed US$ 700 billion (approximately R$ 3.5 trillion).



