Meet the AI Natives Who Don’t Want to Be

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From Day One Editors
June 22, 2026 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Just because they’re good at it, doesn’t mean they like it. 

Growing up with algorithmic feeds and AI-generated content, Gen Z is one of the most AI-fluent generations, but increasingly, they’re the most skeptical of it. It’s a paradox playing out in the workplace, on social media, and even on the stages of this year’s commencement ceremonies, where VIP-speaker references to the promise of AI were met with choruses of boos.

Many employers have assumed that because Gen Z grew up alongside these tools, they’re both comfortable and confident using them in professional settings. But the reality is far more complicated, and to understand how Gen Z is actually navigating this moment, From Day One associate editor Erin Behrens went straight to the source.

A Label That Might Not Fit

First, the roots of the label. An AI native “refers to something—usually a product, company or workflow—that was designed from the ground up with AI as a core component, not bolted on later as a mere feature,” according to an IBM explainer. In some cases, Gen Z has been given this title simply due to the timeline of AI’s emergence in the workforce and education. 

Having been early adopters in terms of their age, they’re generally not getting into a deeper commitment. According to a Gallup poll, “Gen Z’s use of generative AI in everyday life has been largely stable since March 2025. About half (51%) of 14 to 29 year olds continue to say they use AI either daily (22%) or weekly (29%), while 11% report using it monthly, 20% every few months, and 19% say they never use it.” But use doesn’t necessarily equate to trust or excitement. “In most of these cases, Gen Z-ers have become increasingly skeptical, increasingly negative—from a place where even last year, they weren’t particularly positive about it,” Zach Hrynowski, a senior education researcher for Gallup, told the New York Times.

Rocki Rockingham, chief HR officer at GE Appliances, notices that younger employees aren’t more trusting of AI than their older counterparts, but on the other hand, they are “more willing to take chances. To try new things, to do things differently,” she said at From Day One’s Miami conference. It’s a distinction worth making at a time when Gen Z’s feelings about the new technology grow more complicated. 

The Pipeline Problem

Recruiters and hiring managers are increasingly flagging AI fluency as a core qualification in the workforce. It’s no longer a differentiator, but table stakes. An ominous new corporate cliché has even been propagated: AI won’t take your job, but someone who knows how to use it will. Postings that once listed tools like Google Suite and Canva are now leading with ChatGPT and prompt engineering. The message to Gen Z candidates is clear: you were born into this, so you should know it.

The expectation of AI fluency creates uneven ground for those early in their careers who may not have hands-on experience with the technology, widening the gap between candidates before they’ve even had a chance to compete. Dani Monaghan, the SVP of global talent enablement at Expedia Group, worries about the access. “If you’re not taught AI at school or in university, and you don’t have the means to access technology, I think the gap is bigger than it will ever be before,” she said at From Day One’s Seattle conference. 

It’s a gap that’s leaving members of Gen Z increasingly wary. One member of Gen Z, Alec Gautier, a graduate of Marist University’s class of 2023 and now a retention specialist at the mattress company Saatva, says his attitude toward AI “is one of skepticism.” At root is his distrust of its creators. “I am not inherently opposed to the idea of generative AI, but its current architects and proprietors have, to put it lightly, dubious motives,” he said. This skepticism seems to be a trend, with 14% of Gen Z reporting a decline in excitement in AI since 2025, and 48% believing the risks in the workforce outweigh the benefits, according to Gallup data. Even if Gen Z realizes that AI will have to be part of their working lives, they don’t like the side effects and don’t want to wear the label.

RECENT EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

For HR organizations eager to introduce AI into the hiring processes, the question is: Where to begin? Most companies can’t buy a product off the shelf and roll it out—that’s true even if it doesn’t employ artificial intelligence. There are legal implications, security risks, and feasibility questions to be addressed. There’s also the matter of buy-in from business leaders who hold the purse strings and from the employees expected to use it.

What does it mean to be an authentic leader? “I’ve always wondered why that’s a hard question,” said Bill George, author of True North and former Medtronic CEO, during a fireside chat in Minneapolis. “I think a lot of people are afraid. They feel like they have to go into the workplace and wear a mask. Being authentic is being genuine; it’s being who you are. You should constantly grow as a leader. You’re adapting to a situation.”

Engaging frontline workers in creative ways can boost retention and engagement. At Intermountain Health, pairing new hires with trained peer mentors during their first 90 days helped employees feel welcome, gain confidence, and build team connections. “In that first year, we were able to reduce time to independent performance by 41% across six departments,” said Bette Kidane, the company’s senior director of L&D.

When Christine Karel, head of enterprise learning at Ameriprise Financial, joined early discussions about adopting Microsoft Copilot, she advocated for involving learning and development from the start. She observed that many AI rollouts are initially centered on technology, risk, and compliance, without a clear strategy for how employees would apply these tools to drive performance and productivity outcomes. 

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Talent acquisition leaders are being asked to do more with less. Budgets are tightening as organizations respond to economic uncertainty and increasing investment in AI. At the same time, hiring teams need to improve efficiency while making sure new hires have the skills to succeed and create value for the business. This means looking beyond immediate role requirements and identifying people who can adapt as skill needs change over time. A skills-based hiring strategy is essential to making that happen. Join this session to learn what that kind of process looks like and how to identify the skills that predict success across roles and industries.

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AI is often framed as a way to make HR more efficient. That framing misses what’s actually happening. As AI begins to absorb a significant share of operational work, the role of HR doesn’t just accelerate; it shifts. The function moves from processing requests to designing systems, managing human-AI collaboration, and building new capabilities that didn’t exist a few years ago. In this session, Jim Barnett, CEO and co-founder of Wisq, shares both a point of view and what we’re learning on the frontline of building agents. Drawing from real deployments, he'll walk through what actually changes when AI takes on HR work: cases resolved in minutes (not days), 24/7 policy guidance, and HR teams redeployed into more complex employee and labor relations work.

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Hiring managers has become more challenging than ever. There is a shortage of strong talent, yet application volumes are rising as more candidates use AI tools in the hiring process. In this environment, getting manager hiring right is critical. When you don’t, the negative effects can ripple through your individual contributors and ultimately impact business performance. Continuing with the same hiring practices, such as unstructured interviews and relying on gut feel alone, won’t improve outcomes. Join this virtual session to learn what needs to change in your managerial hiring strategy and how to build a stronger approach for your organization. When you hire strong managers, the entire organization benefits.

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Most executives don’t evaluate learning initiatives through the lens of courses or curriculum. They evaluate business performance through the profit and loss (P&L). In this session, Kevin Cope will break down the fundamentals of the P&L in a simple, practical way designed specifically for learning and development (L&D) professionals, yet useful for any HR leader in making the business case for their proposed investments. Attendees will learn how to better connect learning initiatives to business priorities, speak the language of executives, and position L&D as a strategic business driver instead of a support function.

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September & Beyond:

Sponsor Spotlight: FIS

There’s an invisible tax draining the budgets of companies that still rely on the traditional two-week pay cycle. The question is, what are these organizations going to do about it? That was the challenge posed by Steve Davis, the national sales manager at FIS, during a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s Chicago benefits conference. Davis didn’t mince words during his presentation, pointing out that a staggering 62% of American workers live paycheck to paycheck. This reality isn’t just a personal hardship for employees, but rather a performance, leadership, and budget issue that’s hiding in plain sight. Read the full story here.

Sponsor Spotlight: LifeLabs Learning

Recently, a student showed Dossier Harps her resume, saying it was completed using AI. Harps was impressed by the overall inclusions in the resume but noted one serious mistake. In the summary section, the student was said to have 20 years of experience. The problem? The student was only 20 years old. During a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s Minneapolis conference, Harps, facilitation manager at LifeLabs Learning, shared this story as an example as to how AI needs oversight and guidance for a variety of tasks. “Moments like this remind us that, while AI is powerful, humans still need discernment,” said Harps. “Humans still need judgment, humans still need coaching, and humans still need each other.” Read the full story here.

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