Young Aussies fear AI but think it offers great relationship advice – experts say controls on new tech are urgently needed

Young people fear AI’s power but still turn to it for relationship advice, research shows. Experts say five big changes are essential to control the rapidly developing technology.

Noddy and Alison Sharma are concerned about the impact of AI on their son Jesse, 12.

Young Australians fear AI’s power to replace humanity, but almost a third think it provides better relationship advice than real people, exclusive new research shows.

And 37 per cent think AI is so powerful that humans will no longer be in control, with two thirds calling on governments to regulate its use, a McCrindle survey of 1000 Australians has found.

The research, commissioned by youth-based organisation the Abel Movement, was discussed at an AI summit of 17 educators, youth leaders, technologists, psychologists and policy experts.

These include teacher and YouTube star Eddie Woo, McCrindle researcher Ashley Fell, psychologist Clare Rowe and UNSW neuroscientist Joel Pearson.

YouTube star and teacher Eddie Woo was part of an AI think tank examining what controls are needed to protect young people. Picture: Daily Telegraph / Monique Harmer

Founder of the Abel Movement, Reverend Noddy Sharma, said there was an urgent need for action as AI “rewires childhood, reshapes classrooms and transforms the future of work”.

In a paper co-authored with Louise Cummins, co-founder of the Australian Centre for AI, Rev Sharma lists five urgent recommendations for governments and organisations.

They are the need for laws forcing organisations to disclose AI use, a national campaign to help parents manage AI in daily life, help to equip young people to study and work in AI workplaces, integration of AI into the year 7 to 10 school curricula and a national body to test, assess and guide AI safety.

Rev Sharma said young people were concerned about AI. “They are worried about their jobs, the economy and whether they can afford to buy a house,” he said. “AI is a game-changer affecting their future in all sorts of ways.”

“One in four Gen Z members say AI is better placed to give them relationship advice and almost half say they are using it to engage emotionally,” he said.

“They can see the potential dangers but still can’t help but engage with it.”

He said there was a need to “take care of our next generation and make sure the vulnerable are not left behind.”

“We’re on a knife’s edge with AI taking hold. We must lead now in a way that pushes us towards human flourishing – not away from it,” Rev Sharma said.

Ms Cummins said the warning signs were already clear: “We’ve seen what happens when we don’t act soon enough. Social media, vaping – these were warnings.”

“With AI, we have a chance to get it right. But only if we move with urgency and intention. It’s the beginning of a conversation we should’ve started yesterday,” she said.

Jesse Sharma, 12, pictured with dog Wally, is concerned about the impact of AI on young people.

Jesse Sharma: AI can be ‘really dangerous’

Jesse Sharma, 12, Reverand Sharma’s son, said he is worried AI is “making us much more lazy”.

“It means we don’t need an imagination. I think we need to make sure we are not using it for everything,” he said.

“What worries me most about AI in the future is that when AI is used it can learn really quickly. I think AI is something that can be really dangerous.”

However, he said AI “can also be used in a very positive way as well, like to help us with stuff like medical safety and in surgery”.

Jesse Sharma, 12, loves playing baseball instead of spending a lot of time online.

Jesse said he was concerned that AI “has its own language and they can talk to each other – that humans have no way to decipher or do anything with”.

“Al could be plotting against us right now – because we are the only beings on Earth that have caused destruction to ecosystems. AI knows that and might learn that and give us consequences for that,” he said.

Jesse said he manages his own digital life, and admits he can be on his phone “ a lot” but gets off it when asked by his parents.

“Sometimes when I’m with my friends at my house or their house sometimes it’s good to just relax on screens for a while but time can be sucked away really quickly with devices,” he said.

“My weekends are also filled with baseball and other activities.”

University of NSW Professor Joel Pearson was also involved in the AI research.

Five urgent recommendations

1. Implement AI transparency laws for advanced AI systems, especially in youth-facing applications.

2. Fund a national ‘AI-ready families’ campaign to help families and caregivers manage AI in everyday life.

3. Integrate ethical AI literacy in schools in the years 7-10 curriculum.

4. Equip youth for employment in an AI-transformed world with incentives, modern apprenticeships, and inclusive youth employment pathways.

5. Establish an Australian AI safety institute to test, assess, and guide AI safety in line with international best practice.

Originally published as Young Aussies fear AI but think it offers great relationship advice – experts say controls on new tech are urgently needed