Gen Z workers aren’t enthused about the artificial intelligence revolution, with nearly half admitting to sabotaging their company’s AI efforts intentionally, according to a new survey.
According to WRITER, a generative artificial intelligence company based out of San Francisco, nearly 44 percent of Gen Z workers said they have actively tried to undermine their company’s AI strategies.
Overall, 29 percent of workers said they have sabotaged their company’s efforts to implement the technology, but according to WRITER, there was a, “strong undercurrent of resistance among younger workers.”
‘Pushing back’
According to the survey, a number of workers report entering proprietary company information into AI tools, or using unapproved tools for their work.
However, many simply refuse to use AI at all and some go as far as intentionally creating low-quality outputs in an effort to make AI look bad.
According to WRITER, “some employees say they’re pushing back against AI due to fears of job loss.”
That fear may not be unfounded: Lilly Irani, the faculty director of the UC San Diego Labor Center and an associate professor of communication and computer science, told Newsweek that AI, “won’t take all the jobs, but it opens the door for the rearrangement of jobs.”
A Disconnect Within Companies
Meanwhile, AI is creating a massive disconnect within companies.
According to the WRITER survey, 64 percent of company leaders say they use AI tools for more than two hours per day, while 75 percent believe AI agents will be used as part of their company’s executive decision-making over the next five years.
However, 56 percent of C-suite members say AI is tearing their company apart. Some 73 percent say that AI is causing them “significant” stress and anxiety as they consider the future of their company.
‘Dangerously wrong’
Tommy Shaffer Shane, a UK researcher who studies AI, found that a growing number of models are currently “deceptively scheming” to ignore prompts from users.
“The likelihood of catastrophic incidents depends on a few key variables—how capable the models become, how trustworthy the models are and how much we entrust to them,” he told Newsweek in an email.
“Overall, we should be uncertain, but it would be unwise to ignore the real and growing risk of catastrophic scheming incidents.”
More than a third (35 percent) of C-suite executives polled by WRITER say they are not confident they could “pull the plug” on a rogue AI agent that was damaging their company.
Meanwhile, 28 percent of employees say they have seen AI produce results that are dangerously wrong or unethical.
‘Deeper organizational issues’
Jevan Lenox, Chief People Officer at WRITER, told Newsweek that it’s “great to see that executives are personally committing to the AI revolution.”
However, Lenox noted that many executives simply dropping AI technology onto their workers, and then wondering why there is sabotage.
“Real transformation requires redesigning core workflows with AI at the center, leveraging platforms built for team collaboration and governance that empowers IT to fulfill their responsibilities,” Lenox said.
“AI is also exposing and amplifying deeper organizational issues—misalignment between IT and business teams, unclear accountability and pressure from the top to show results quickly.
“Until companies move beyond surface-level adoption and redesign how work actually gets done, these tensions will continue, and even increase.”
Lenox added that Gen Z resistance to AI is largely related to worries about job displacement.
“Their concerns absolutely have merit,” Lenox said. “Beyond job displacement, Gen Z is also more sensitive to issues like data privacy, transparency and ethical use of technology.
“What organizations sometimes interpret as resistance is often due to a lack of clear leadership communication and inclusion in change management.
“Companies that address those concerns—by investing in training, being transparent about how AI is used and positioning it as a tool for growth (both organizational and personal)—will see much stronger results.”