- 96% of college students now use AI, but half of them would ban it tomorrow
- Heavy users are more likely to feel schoolwork would become harder without it
- They’re worried about cognitive decline, but more so about AI’s environmental damage
New research has likened the relationship between Gen Z and AI use to that of previous generations with smoking cigarettes, characterizing it as widespread adoption, awareness of the negative consequences and a reluctance to give it up.
The study from Fizz found nearly all (96%) college students now use AI, but more than half (56%) would permanently ban the technology.
But although one in two would support banning AI, Fizz shows just how reliant students have become on it, with the proportion of learners believing their work would become much harder rising significantly among frequent AI users.
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Students have become reliant on AI despite its potential consequences
“The heaviest users are hooked,” Fizz declared, noting that 68% of students who use AI multiple times a day believe schoolwork would become harder without AI. This proportion falls to 59% among daily users, 42% among weekly users, 22% among users who use AI just a few times a month, and 9% among those who use it less than once monthly.
Fizz also warns that the effects have having a much broader reach than just homework, with 43% of heavy users agreeing preparing for their career would also be harder without AI. Two in five even worry their daily lives would be more difficult.
This could be because students still recognize that traditional skills and qualities are still in big demand – 27% put communication and people skills as their priority, indirectly implying that their AI use could actually be harming those.
A staggering majority (86%) of daily AI users admit to having used it for something they would previously have discussed with another person, like career or life advice (51%), personal problems (48%) and even deciding how to reply to a message (45%).
The report claims that nearly half of the heaviest AI users feel under pressure to use the technology because they fear falling behind in the employment market, despite acknowledging that it could also be harming their ability to succeed in employment.
But it might not be entirely their fault, because nearly two-thirds (64%) of the surveyed students said they feel at least some pressure from teachers or educational institutions to adopt AI.
They may be addicted, but they want it gone
As many as one in two (56%) students said they would ban AI tomorrow if they could, hinting at a broad recognition that it’s impacting much more than just their education.
But cognitive decline and dependence (28%) actually came in second place, behind worries of environmental damage (35%).
It could just be that many students’ dependence has now made them unable to give up AI, even though they have worries about its negative impacts.
“They reach for it when they’re anxious or alone… And almost nobody believes it’s actually making them better,” the paper concludes. “Silicon Valley believes it handed Gen Z a superpower. Gen Z would hand it back tomorrow, as long as everyone else did too.”
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Craig Hale
