AI or Artificial Intelligence is no longer a futuristic fantasy. It’s here and it’s an integral part of our daily lives, especially that of Generation Z. “Talking to machines” is no longer science fiction.
AI silently powers our daily routines. We ask ChatGPT for help, let Spotify choose our mood, and trust Google Maps more than our own sense of direction.
The use of AI defines the generation gap. For Gen X and older Millennials, AI is a commodity. For Generation Z, it’s oxygen. And all the while, news magazine headlines continue to warn that robots are taking over normal life. Everyone knows that if used without limits, it could become reality.Me and Generation Z: Aarush Tripathi, a high school student, said AI is “just part of my routine. I use it for homework, music and even video games.” Still, he admitted that relying on AI for everyday choices may seem strange. “It’s helpful, but it’s also like someone else is making choices for me,” he said.
According to a 2024 Pew Research Center survey, nearly 70% of Gen Z respondents use AI tools weekly, compared to 48% of Millennials. Most say it helps them be more productive or creative, but almost half worry about “losing control of decision-making.”
AI and Generation X: The older generation does not like to depend on AI so much. Vikram Mehta, in his 40s, spoke of a world before autocomplete. “We had to fend for ourselves,” he said. “Now students just ask ChatGPT.” Mehta said he now only uses AI for quick searches. “It feels more real when you do it yourself,” he added.
AI and creativity: A major concern of AI is that of creativity. Platforms like TikTok and YouTube use AI-based recommendations to shape what users watch and what they create.
Seventeen-year-old Aahan Sharma said algorithms often suggest ideas he would never have thought of. “It’s like having a strangely intelligent friend who’s always there,” he says. But he remains cautious, he says. “If you rely on it too much, you risk losing your originality,” he said. According to him, AI is like a friend who doesn’t finish his sentences, he also starts writing them.
AI and privacy: Another major concern regarding AI is that of privacy, which is now a concern shared by Generations X and Z. Generation Z may love the convenience of AI, but not blindly.
A 2023 Deloitte study found that 52% of Gen Z users adjust their privacy settings every month, a higher rate than millennials. “We know what we’re giving,” said Shobhit Nayak, 18. “But we have learned to deal with compromise.”
AI raises questions that no one really knows how to answer. Can a Chatbot replace a real friend? “Sometimes I joke that my playlist knows me better than my friends,” Tripathi said. “Yesterday I was sad and Spotify just released happy songs.” “In my day, if your music matched your mood, it was luck, not algorithms,” Mehta said.
AIIt is Future: However, all is not doom and gloom when it comes to AI. Gen Z’s comfort with AI has also fueled an explosion in digital culture. They use it to learn coding, practice languages, and think of new ideas faster than ever. What once required a classroom now fits in a text box.
Maybe AI isn’t making us lazier or taking over us. It just changes the way we think. The calculator did not kill mathematics. It changed the way we do things. Likewise, AI may not replace creativity, it could redefine it. Nayak summed up these sentiments when he said: “We don’t just live with AI. It lives with us. The question is to what extent we let it define us.”
Perhaps this will be the paradox of the modern era: the smarter our machines become, the more we must remember how to remain human.
