By mid-2023, Gartner had already pegged generative AI as the artificial intelligence technology with the most commercial potential, and 2024 surveys done by Soul App in China and by EduBirdie in the US show that Gen Z has been quick to monetize the technology and use it for professional gains.
Both the EduBirdie and Soul App surveys involved Gen Z respondents, and understandably so. Zoomers are true digital natives who have been brought up on a steady dose of technological innovations. As such, they are more open to allowing newer technologies to permeate their personal and professional lives.
Of course, the enthusiasm with which Gen Z continues to engage with AIGC (Artificial Intelligence Generated Content) products does not mean that the negativity surrounding this technology has evaporated entirely. For instance, nearly 43% of Soul App survey respondents admitted being concerned about the loss of jobs that AI may cause.
Over 61% of the participants of the EduBirdie study echoed similar sentiments but only about 9% stated that these were immediate concerns. In fact, the way things stand at this time, Zoomers are increasingly looking for ways to harness the power of artificial intelligence to help them climb corporate ladders and even fuel their entrepreneurial quests.
For instance, of the over 3400 youngsters who participated in the Soul App survey, around 15% claimed that they had already monetized AIGC products and more than 43% stated that they intended to do so in the near future. In the EduBirdie study, 1 in every 7 participants said that using generative AI tools has helped boost earnings.
However, Zoomers in the US were also worried about their over-reliance on AIGC products. In fact, of those surveyed, around 36% expressed this concern while 33% also admitted to feeling guilty about using artificial intelligence to complete work-related tasks. On the other hand, the participants of the Soul App survey displayed a more positive attitude and greater acceptance of everything that AIGC had to offer.
That said, youngsters in both countries had similar views on how AIGC helped them in their professional pursuits and what aspects of the technology they liked the most. According to 63% of the Soul App survey respondents, AIGC had greatly enhanced their work efficiency. Another 54% of the participants added that the technology makes their work life more convenient while nearly 54% cited their collaboration with AIGC tools as an interesting and entertaining experience.
In the US, nearly half of the respondents to the EduBirdie survey admitted that AIGC products helped them to achieve greater heights of creativity. When it came to specific generative intelligence tools, youngsters all over chose applications capable of interaction with the user, and among these, ChatGPT continued its run as the crowd favorite.
In terms of specific use cases, approximately 55% of American youngsters said that they used ChatGPT for research, brainstorming, and generating ideas and about 42% said that they used the tool for content creation
As far as industry-specific usage was concerned, according to the Soul App survey, sectors such as advertising, marketing, art, content development, and communication had the highest percentage of professionals who were actively using AIGC tools.
However, young professionals are not relying on generative artificial intelligence just to come up with new ideas or to enhance productivity. According to a Forbes study, youngsters are more comfortable discussing career prospects, professional concerns, and goals with AI chatbots than with their managers.
In fact, such is the comfort level of Gen Z with AI applications that over 33% of Soul App survey participants admitted that they would be happy to befriend an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot. What’s more, about 46% also said that they liked the immediate feedback that such tools offer. Young professionals in the US also had similar views about AI as they accepted feeling comfortable discussing mental health issues with AIGC tools.
The multimodal capabilities of AIGC applications along with their perpetual availability and the perceived neutrality of chatbots all contribute to the popularity of such programs among youngsters. That said, this is certainly not the full extent of Gen Z’s professional engagement with AIGC technology.
Over the last few months, several youngsters have come forth with stories of how AIGC tools have helped them craft the perfect resume, negotiate a higher salary, choose the right job, and take a career path that best suits their personality.
So simply put, from gaining knowledge that can eventually be used to make money to making products and delivering services that can lead to a new income stream or increase current earnings and from finding the right job to tackling the tasks that the job entails, AIGC tools seem to have youngsters covered on all fronts.
But, that’s not all, while the Soul App Survey highlighted the eagerness that Zoomers have to use this groundbreaking technology, Microsoft and LinkedIn studies shed light on what’s going to happen to those who choose not to go the AI way. The tech behemoths clarified that professionals who do not warm up to the technology will indeed be left behind as the radical transformation brought by AI forces managers to rank AI aptitude higher than experience and other forms of technical expertise.
In other words, whether willingly or reluctantly, youngsters will have to learn to collaborate with AIGC technology if they want to thrive in the workplace and business space of the future. Fortunately, as the Soul App survey pointed out, Zoomers are more optimistic about the technology today than they were about a year ago. With that considered, it would not be off the mark to suggest that the collaboration between Zoomers and AIGC is only going to get bigger, better, and more profitable in the days to come.
