In a CNBC and Generation Lab survey of 1,088 people aged 18 to 34, 45 percent expect AI to have a negative effect on their careers and 10 percent a positive one. Trust in leading AI executives is uniformly low.
The survey by CNBC and research firm Generation Lab polled 1,088 Americans aged 18 to 34 in early August. Forty-five percent expect artificial intelligence to damage their professional prospects; only 10 percent expect a benefit.
On trust in the industry's leading figures, not one name comes out positive. Microsoft's Satya Nadella records the highest approval at 35 percent. The chief executives of OpenAI, Meta, Nvidia and SpaceX all sit at around 30 percent, Palantir's Alex Karp at 19 percent.
For employers this is not a distant opinion poll. This age group is the applicant pool of the coming years. Communicating AI adoption purely as an efficiency programme reinforces an expectation that already exists – and loses candidates to employers who answer the question about their own role.
What this means for decision-makers
- State explicitly in job adverts and onboarding which tasks AI takes over and which stay with people.
- Introduce AI tools alongside a named development path for junior staff rather than as a cost measure.
- Ask directly about AI concerns in performance conversations; unspoken expectations cost retention.
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