A nationwide survey of 18–25-year-olds appears to show that young people are more likely to be honest about using generative AI such as ChatGPT in their studies than at work.

Half of young students (52 per cent) say that they are always honest about using AI in their studies, but only a third of young people aged 18-25 in work (34 per cent) say the same.

A quarter (26 per cent) say that they would never admit to AI use at work, compared to only 15 per cent who would never own up about getting help in their studies.

The study was conducted by 3Gem among 1,000 young adults living across the UK. It has been commissioned by Ravensbourne University London, a specialist university for the creative and digital industries.

Ravensbourne recently introduced a new clause into its student guidelines which outlaws: “Claiming AI generated output as one’s own original work without full and transparent acknowledgement of any instructed contribution from AI technology.”

Two thirds of the young adults surveyed (66 per cent) have now used generative AI tools, including text, image, video and audio generators. A similar number (67 per cent) agreed that they want to learn how to better use and work with AI, either to make their lives easier (30 per cent) or because it is important for work (37%). A fifth (21 per cent) say that they have no interest in learning how to better use AI.

On in five of respondents (21 per cent) have now been asked about AI in a job interview and one in ten (10 per cent) have used AI tools to write a CV or job application. However, so far only 14 per cent of young people said that they had used generative AI to write for work and only 10 per cent for their studies.

Andy Rees, Dean of Ravensbourne University London, said:
“Generative text and image tools are increasingly being used by young people in both work and education. Skills such as AI curation and prompt writing are absolutely vital for the workforce of the future. It’s our responsibility as educators to recognise the potential of these tools and to integrate them into the learning process, while educating students about their ethical use.”

“At Ravensbourne, we think the real potential is in finding ways to best utilise the technology through very human activities such as iteration and creative thinking. On our Advertising and Brand Design course, for example, students are using multiple AI tools to create unique high quality visual imagery to a professional standard.”

“Universities, colleges and schools are already teaching AI literacy and integrity, and it’s encouraging to see this reflected in our survey results. This will ensure that young people are prepared to use AI transparently and ethically when they enter the workplace.”