Why Gen Z Fears AI: Jobs, Climate and a Less Certain Future

A road-trip conversation

On a long drive through the Appalachian mountains, a thoughtful conversation with my teenage daughter boiled down to one blunt observation: 'No one my age wants AI.' Her peers, she said, are not excited about the technology because they believe 'all the jobs we thought we wanted to do are going to go away.' That pessimism stretched from California to New Hampshire and felt tied to broader anxieties about the future.

What industry leaders are predicting

The fear is fed by stark statements from business leaders and technologists. OpenAI's CEO told the Federal Reserve that AI agents could leave entire job categories 'just like totally, totally gone.' Anthropic's CEO has said AI could wipe out half of entry-level white-collar roles in five years. Executives at Amazon, Shopify, Ford and elsewhere have all signaled plans or expectations that AI will replace many human tasks and roles. Those forecasts are more than speculation when voiced from the corner offices of companies that can deploy the technology at scale.

Early evidence in hiring patterns

This shift is already visible in labor markets. Hiring of new graduates has fallen in sectors such as tech and finance, and while AI is not the sole cause, it is almost certainly a contributing factor. Companies that once onboarded large classes of junior employees now hesitate, worried that automation or AI tools will absorb entry-level responsibilities before hires can grow into them.

The environmental price of AI

AI's infrastructure carries its own costs. Large-scale AI workloads require massive data centers, significant electricity, and abundant water for cooling. Companies have announced data center projects that demand gigawatts of power—scale comparable to small states during peak seasons. To meet that appetite, utilities may lean on natural gas and other fossil fuels, increasing carbon emissions. Some communities are already seeing local water stress tied to data center operations, compounding the strains of climate change.

Promises of benefit and the reality on the ground

Proponents argue AI will optimize the grid, unlock scientific breakthroughs, and accelerate clean energy development. Those possibilities are real, but they coexist with growing emissions from AI operations today. New data centers are being powered by methane-fueled generators and the electricity consumption and emissions of major tech companies are rising even as they claim future environmental benefits.

How this looks to younger generations

For many in Gen Z, AI is not a net benefit but a looming risk with tangible downsides and uncertain upsides. Students complain that AI isn't reliable enough for research, that schools ban it complicating academic work, and that AI detectors can falsely penalize innocent students. The result is a perception that the technology threatens both fair assessment and future employment prospects: 'One teacher told us we're all going to be janitors,' my daughter said.

Where priorities should shift

We will not step back from AI, nor should we assume a halt in progress. But we must weigh AI alongside other urgent threats—climate change, geopolitical instability, public health and more—if we hope to secure a prosperous future. That means policy, corporate responsibility, and public investment must address not only economic displacement, but also the environmental and social impacts of an AI-driven economy.

What you'll find in this issue

This edition examines efforts to strengthen security and resilience—from missiles to asteroids to the less headline-grabbing threats that affect daily life. We are also launching three new columns: The Algorithm on AI, The Checkup on biotech, and The Spark on energy and climate. Subscribe online to receive these pieces in your inbox every week.

Stay safe out there.