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Wei Wei

My four-year-old son has become fascinated with his new friend, who has endless patience and an answer for everything. She is an artificial intelligence assistant on Doubao, one of China’s most popular AI applications.
My son, obsessed with space, black holes and galaxies, keeps asking Doubao for related videos. When the video is of low quality or inaccurate, I would stop it and explain it may not be reliable. Despite my concerns about AI-generated information, I let him interact with AI within limits. I see AI primarily as a tool; like the internet or smartphone, it will become an important part of everyday life, so learning to use it matters.
Such an attitude is echoed by most Chinese people, especially among the younger generation. But it seems different for their peers across the Pacific.
In a recently released Chinese survey of more than 7,000 people, over 96 per cent report an awareness of AI, with over 54 per cent using it. More than 40 per cent use AI specifically in work, study or daily life, significantly higher than in the United States and other developed countries. The Edelman Trust Barometer shows 87 per cent in China trusting AI, compared with only 32 per cent in the US.
In contrast, last year’s Harvard Youth Poll found that 59 per cent of 18-29‑year‑olds in the US believed AI threatened their job prospects. According to Gallup, 48 per cent of Gen Z workers think the risks of AI in the workplace outweigh the benefits – up 11 percentage points from last year; meanwhile, those reporting excitement about AI fell by 14 points. In a Harris Poll survey, nearly half of Gen Zers believe AI made their degrees irrelevant.
But while people in China are more positive about AI than in the US, they have anxieties too – just different ones. Chinese surveyed who reported concern about AI job displacement fell to 39.44 per cent last year from 60.5 per cent while the top risk, identified by 45.79 per cent, is of AI overuse leading to an atrophy of personal capabilities.


Specifically, a recent China Youth Daily survey of 1,500 people found that 89.2 per cent felt an over-reliance on AI was affecting their opportunity for independent thought and inspiration; nearly 55 per cent worried it could lead to neglected personal growth. Creativity and innovation, critical thinking, questioning and reflection, human-machine collaboration, and communication and collaboration skills were identified as the top five abilities that professionals should safeguard in the AI era.
And while American graduates worry about AI replacing them, their Chinese peers are more likely to worry about falling behind if they fail to master AI.
Another China Youth Daily survey, of over 3,000 undergraduates, found that 62.3 per cent had plans to learn AI skills to ensure the technology served them, while 59.7 per cent have chosen to upgrade their professional skills to make themselves harder to replace at work.
The fundamental difference in Chinese and American youth attitudes towards AI starts with their different economic outlooks and job prospects.


American youth face a high-pressure, low-hope job market. The share of unemployed Americans who are new workforce entrants hit a 37-year high last year, peaking at 13.3 per cent in July before settling at 10.6 per cent in February this year – higher than during the Great Recession.
Last year, a Cengage Group employability report said only 30 per cent of 2025 college graduates and 41 per cent of 2024 graduates found entry-level jobs in their fields. As for the class of 2026, Handshake’s workforce outlook report found that 60 per cent were pessimistic about career prospects, even as job postings on the Handshake platform dropped by 16 per cent year on year and applications per position rose by 26 per cent.
That is the economic backdrop to the boos at AI heard during commencement speeches across several American college campuses: AI is seen as a competitor for jobs rather than help in getting things done.
Chinese youth also face employment pressure. But China’s economic transformation and industrial diversification are faster and wider. Jobs created by AI offset some anxiety. Importantly, China is transitioning from world’s factory to technology power. The government has made AI a national strategic industry, and there is social consensus that everyone is in the same boat.


Over the past two decades, many Chinese have seen technology improve life. Mobile payments, e-commerce, high-speed rail, digital services and the platform economy transformed how people work, travel, shop and communicate. For many young Chinese, technological advancement and social progress largely moved together. AI is often viewed as the next chapter in development and modernisation.
The American experience is more complicated. Many Americans grew up alongside a culture of technological scepticism. They have learned to ask not only what technology can do, but also what the costs might be.
Yet, despite the divide, both groups are embracing AI – experimenting with chatbots, image generators, writing assistants and learning tools. The technology is the same even as the perceptions are not. When my son asks Doubao if a black hole could swallow the Milky Way, he sees a world of possibilities. AI is simply another doorway into exploration and imagination. For many young Americans, the future feels harder to predict.
These different levels of confidence about the future are, perhaps, the most important AI story of all.


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It starts with the fundamentally different economic outlooks and job prospects for young people in China and the US


It starts with the fundamentally different economic outlooks and job prospects for young people in China and the US.


Young Americans feel more threatened by AI than young Chinese. Why?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}It starts with the fundamentally different economic outlooks and job prospects for young people in China and the US

It starts with the fundamentally different economic outlooks and job prospects for young people in China and the US