“Older teenagers communicate more often with ChatGPT” – Kommersant FM

Kommersant FM columnist Alexander Levi talks about how young people are researching artificial intelligence.

The Zoomer generation is more active than others in introducing generative artificial intelligence into their lives. Such technologies are already used online by eight out of 10 teenagers aged 13 to 17 years, according to a study by the British regulator Ofcom. According to the agency, for younger audiences (from seven to 12 years old) this figure is two times lower. And it seems normal.

But from people in the 16+ group you expect a wider use of ChatGPT, Midjourney, DALL-E and other versions of generative artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, according to Ofcom estimates, this age category has the lowest share of activity – 31%. And a quarter of respondents do not even know about the existence of neural networks.

Researchers consider the Snapchat My AI service, which is directly connected to the social network Snapchat, to be one of the key drivers of the prevalence of technology among children. It went public in April and has become the most popular among Generation Z. It manages to attract more than half of the audience between the ages of seven and 17. Moreover, the most active users of Snapchat My AI were girls. Researchers estimate their share to be an overwhelming three-quarters of the total.

Older teens are more likely to communicate with ChatGPT. The brainchild of Open AI is the leader among Internet users over 16 years old with a share of 23%. And when it comes to using ChatGPT, boys are more than twice as active as girls: 34% versus 14%.

Most often, young people use artificial intelligence tools for entertainment. This scenario accounts for six out of 10 cases. A third of users use neural networks in their work, and a quarter solve learning issues with their help.

Research has shown that even the most active generation is at the stage of learning about technology. Almost half of users are exploring the capabilities of generative chatbots when communicating with them. 36% come to find information or content on Google or Yandex, for example. A fifth turn to artificial intelligence for advice.

At the same time, a huge number of users are concerned about the potential impact of generative artificial intelligence on society. The audience aged 16 to 24 thinks most about the consequences for people. Such experiences were noted in 67% of this category.