Almost half of Gen Z says AI is making them dumber

AI use at work is saving employees more than two hours daily, but it also creates workforce tension. Employees report becoming faster while feeling less confident, less skilled, and less certain they can perform tasks without machine assistance. Many employees say they rely on AI too much, cannot function without it, and believe overuse is eroding skills and intelligence, especially among Gen Z. External pressure to use AI for productivity is widespread, often without adequate training or policies. A large share of employees admit using AI for sensitive or high-stakes tasks such as legal or compliance work, emotionally nuanced decisions, and handling confidential information, where human judgment is most critical and errors are costly.

"Employees are getting faster, but some are also getting less confident, less skilled, and less certain they can do their jobs without a machine doing much of the thinking for them. That tension is the defining workforce challenge of 2026, and most companies aren't prepared to address it."

"Fifty percent of employees now say they rely on AI too much. Thirty percent say they can no longer function without it. And 39% believe their overreliance on AI is actively eroding their skills and making them less intelligent, a number that climbs to 46% among Gen Z workers."

"Sixty percent of employees say they feel pressured to use AI tools to boost productivity regardless of whether the task calls for it. That pressure, absent the right training and policies, is a setup for misuse."

"Seventy percent of employees (up from 54% just a year ago) admit they've used AI for sensitive or high-stakes tasks, including legal or compliance work, decisions requiring emotional intelligence, and actions involving confidential information. These are exactly the domains where human judgment is most irreplaceable, and where AI errors carry the highest cost."

Read at Fast Company