The generation that will shape AI is also the most worried about it

Gen Z places the highest importance on ethics of any generation. They are also the most anxious about artificial intelligence.

Governance Institute of Australia’s 2025 Ethics Index reveals a sharp generational divide in attitudes toward AI. Gen Z recorded the strongest negative swing toward corporate use of AI, dropping from a net positive of +8 in 2024 to –11 this year.

The Ethics Index places AI alongside embryo experimentation as one of the most ethically difficult issues facing Australians. It jumped seven points in the past year to become the third most pressing ethical challenge, behind only cost of living and housing affordability.

“Artificial intelligence is no longer viewed as a niche or emerging issue,” said Daniel Popovski, Governance Institute’s Senior Advisor for Policy and Advocacy on AI and technology.

“It is now one of the most ethically complex challenges facing Australian society.”

The trust gap

The disconnect between how companies are deploying AI and how workers feel about it is widening, an EY study released in August showed only 35 per cent of Australians have received formal AI training from an employer.

Forty-two per cent have not received proper guidance on how AI should be used, yet 68 per cent confirm they are already using it.

Workers are adopting tools they do not fully understand, in workplaces that have not articulated clear ethical boundaries.

Australians are most critical of AI scenarios involving deception, undisclosed AI-generated content, and job displacement.

“These findings underscore the urgent need for ethical governance frameworks that can keep pace with technological advancement,” Popovski said.

What stays human

Tech executives raising the next generation of workers are not telling their children to panic, they are telling them to focus on what machines still struggle to do.

Steve Evans, founder and CEO of ConnectOS, recently told the Australian Financial Review that “technical skills will change constantly, but critical thinking and decision-making won’t.”

Capabilities such as communication, creativity, emotional intelligence and leadership remain difficult to automate, and they are becoming more valuable as technology accelerates.

Angela Robinson, managing director of Publicis Sapient Australia, told the AFR that she tells her children to see AI as a platform they will need to understand and work alongside, not a shortcut or a threat.

“They should view their education as a way to learn how to think, stay curious and adaptable, and to build uniquely human strengths like creativity and judgment,” she said.

“Ultimately, they need to learn when to trust AI and when to challenge it to create meaningful, sustainable value.”