Young people are worse off because of AI. We should listen to them.
When youth advocate and columnist Maddie Freeman conducted focus group interviews with 100 people ages 16-24 about AI, the consensus was overwhelming. Young people are extremely alarmed about the negative impacts that AI is having on their mental health, their cognition, and educational experiences.
89% agreed that AI has a negative impact on their mental health
87% agreed that AI negatively impacted their education
Many others conveyed a sense of hopelessness about the future, job prospects, and even the future of human sociality.
As education and youth advocates, it’s our duty to uplift and empower youth voices when they express concerns about the future. Particularly when those concerns about AI are backed up by extensive research, countless studies, and lived experience accounts. We must prioritize the needs of students over the profit of big tech AI companies. That’s why we at the San Francisco Education Alliance have launched a campaign to protect the most vulnerable students in our schools from the negative impacts of excessive screen time and AI.
Lea Suzuki for the SF Chronicle
Maddie Freeman | SF Chronicle | June 26, 2026
