They might tolerate algorithms automating entry-level jobs, but new polling shows younger people fiercely reject tech when it comes to human authenticity in romantic relationships.
Their status as the workplace’s first digitally native generation notwithstanding, Gen Zers have some legitimate reasons to dislike artificial intelligence (AI) tools—including their role automating countless entry-level jobs that younger workers often rely on. But new survey data shows the youthful cohort’s professional disdain of chatbots is even sharper when they invade their private lives—which may lead many to cut off romantic partners who use the tech for personal decisions.
Nobody ever accused Gen Zers of sheepishly following trends—or for that matter, simply abiding long-standing workplace expectations and rules. But members of the cohort are really bucking the continuing AI craze by regarding those apps as cold showers when they turn up in prospective, budding, or even established romantic relationships. In fact, 64 percent of Gen Z respondents told a recent poll they’d refuse to date anyone who used the tech in making everyday decisions.
Hands that type queries into ChatGPT will never hold mine.
Conversely, 60 percent of those Gen Zers surveyed by dating app company Hily said they would “find someone extremely attractive if they admitted they never use AI for personal decisions.” Imagine future children swooning at romantic parental accounts of how they knew their love was genuine because “your mother never cheated on me with Claude.”
Elon Musk has capped Tesla employees’ spending on AI at $200 (£150) a week as companies seek to rein in runaway bills.
Staff at the electric vehicle manufacturer have been told that their use of the technology will be limited from Monday.
The cap does not apply to Grok, Mr Musk’s own AI system, which has struggled compared to rivals such as Anthropic’s Claude, ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.
Many large companies have pushed their employees to use AI as much as possible hoping it will make them more productive.
Mr Musk said earlier this year that AI would allow “output” per Tesla worker to get “nutty high”.
But the push to use AI has led to soaring bills, as the cost of using these systems rises with demand. There are fears that staff are also wastefully using AI to carry out menial tasks in an attempt to demonstrate they are using it.
Several companies are now seeking to rein in staff use. Uber, which had told employees to use AI as much as possible, recently limited usage to $1,500 per month, while Meta, Walmart and Coinbase have all said they will introduce caps.
Henrico County employees, including school staff, have reportedly been asked to conserve electricity after the Virginia county, home to multiple data centers, said its power costs for government and school facilities would rise by nearly 25 percent starting July 1, adding an estimated $5 million in the next fiscal year.
County Manager John Vithoulkas told employees in a June 26 email that the rate paid for electricity “will increase dramatically” and that the county anticipates additional increases “in the years ahead,” according to 404 Media and the Henrico Citizen.
Henrico has become a data center hub in recent years. 404 Media reported that the county has 37 data centers and plans for 17 more, while the Henrico Citizen reported that Henrico’s eastern corridor is now home to at least 16 facilities, with more on the way. County officials have attributed at least part of the rate increase to rising fuel costs, but have not connected it to data centers, according to the Henrico Citizen.
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