Does the “digital generation” blindly trust Artificial Intelligence? The answer, as we discovered this November, is a resounding no.
On November 24th, the INQUIRIUM team gathered at the University of Nicosia for a pivotal focus group as part of the Erasmus+ AIRY project. Hosted by the Department of Education, to whom we owe a huge thank you for their warm welcome and support, we sat down with 11 young adults (aged 18–30) to dig past the hype and understand their actual daily reality with AI.
Why was this meeting necessary? Because too often, policies and tools are designed for young people without actually asking them what they need. This session gave us direct, grounded insights into their habits, their fears, and the specific support they are asking for.
The discussion was candid and revealing. Far from being passive consumers of technology, these young participants showed a sharp critical awareness:
- They view AI as a powerful engine for speeding up tasks and sparking ideas, but they explicitly stated they do not view it as a “source of truth.”
- “Check everything” was a common theme. Participants stressed the importance of cross-referencing AI outputs, spotting fake citations, and reading sources with a critical eye.
- The conversation didn’t shy away from the risks. Misinformation, job displacement, and the uncredited copying of creative work were flagged as major sources of anxiety.
- They know what they don’t know. They are actively asking for support in building critical thinking, mastering strong prompting techniques, and establishing clear ethical boundaries for using AI in academic and professional settings.
What Comes Next?
These voices will not just stay in a meeting room. The insights gathered at the University of Nicosia are feeding directly into the next major outputs of the AIRY project: a practical Handbook for youth and strategic recommendations for youth workers.
Our goal is to move beyond theory and provide the exact tools young people are telling us they need to navigate this new landscape with confidence. Follow the AIRY journey here: https://inquiry-fuse.eu/airy/.
