How kids feel about AI, in their own words
2026-08-20 · MIT Technology Review
What Kids Really Think About AI: In Their Own Words
Expectations vs. Reality
When we set out to talk to kids about artificial intelligence, we thought we knew what we’d hear. We expected some to tell us they were using it to cheat, the way previous generations used CliffsNotes or programmed formulas into calculators, and others to share inspiring applications. We were also prepared for concerns about deepfakes or job destruction.
But what we actually heard from kids aged 10 to 18 had far more nuance. Many of the same kids who can talk endlessly about music, rock climbing, or soccer met our questions with “bruh” and “meh”—or were so opposed to AI or uninterested that they didn’t want to talk about it at all. One teen said peers use it for things they know they shouldn’t, like writing papers. One refused to touch AI because of its environmental impact. Winter, 17, said: “AI isn’t the solution to our problems. I’m afraid it’s going to be the end of creativity and critical thinking.” Yet most admitted to using AI at least a little bit.
AI Among Younger Children
AI does not yet seem to be something elementary- or middle-school-age kids are focused on, and they aren’t begging for it the way they do for iPhones and Snapchat accounts. Many said their first encounters came from parents or schools. Sometimes it is simply embedded in the devices and apps they already use, such as Google Search.
This tracks with survey data. A Pew Research Center study published in February 2026 found that 57% of U.S. teens had used chatbots to search for information, 54% to help with schoolwork, and 47% for fun or entertainment. Only 12% had used them for emotional support. Teens are over four times more likely to use AI in innocuous ways than in potentially harmful ones. Some are even using it to build things—whether a character, a tech platform, or a tutor to help other kids study.
Why Education Matters More Than Avoidance
None of this means the worries are misplaced. Kids can stumble into unfiltered content, lean on a chatbot instead of their own judgment, or trust a wrong answer, and they should be protected. But the danger is exactly why we should teach the thing, not avoid it. We don’t teach teens to never drive; we teach them to check their blind spots.
What surprised us most was how much young people might teach adults about AI. The kids who use it could clearly name what they will and won’t hand over. They are less worried that it will take their jobs than that it might harm society. With tools that could theoretically do their thinking, talking, or even friend-making for them, most want to keep their hands on the wheel.
Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
The Coder: Remy, 16, New York
What’s something AI did that surprised you?
“A group of hackers used Instagram’s chatbot to gain access to famous accounts. The hackers convinced it to reset the passwords to accounts like Obama’s and send the reset email to their own email. Then they changed the account and posted things from several famous accounts at once, using a vulnerability that came only from AI.”
The word that comes to mind when Remy thinks about AI is “indifferent.” He doesn’t find current applications exciting for his own use. He goes to school, teaches tae kwon do, reads, and plays games with friends—none of which needs AI. That said, he does use it, mostly Claude’s free version for programming outside school. He once had it help write a program to tweak his computer’s overclock.
At school, however, he thinks AI mostly makes assignments worse. English classes now require all in-class writing to prevent cheating, giving students only 70 minutes to write a full essay, which he believes hinders real writing development. Princeton recently voted to allow faculty to proctor exams for the first time in over a century because of AI, ending an honor code that dated back to 1893.
When it comes to code, Remy would rather build things himself. He and a friend are making a reinforcement-learning model in a game engine: it starts moving randomly, gets rewarded for walking toward a coin, and eventually teaches itself the most efficient path. He has tested AI for game development and found it produces sloppy code that fails to blend mechanics into something cohesive. He spends more time correcting it than writing from scratch.
Remy compares current AI to the first car or the first airplane: interesting but crude. It’s an amazing invention but not actually good yet. He is more interested in versions that flag breast cancer more accurately by learning to catch their own false positives, with a human still verifying the final result.
The Organizer: Danielle, 18, California
What most excites or worries you about AI?
“I’m most worried about our ability to think critically and the potential for misinformation, disinformation, and biases to be spread through too much trust in AI.”
Danielle is studying engineering. Her life goal is to innovate technology that will help as many people as possible. She sees AI as neither inherently good nor bad; its value is decided by the people using it. It is already being used for many good things, such as personalized education and more accessible medical diagnoses.
So far, the biggest project she has worked on with AI is called Next Voters, developed with her teammates.