Key facts
- Gen Z employees at Business Insider expressed skepticism and privacy concerns regarding AI agents.
- Millennial employees at Business Insider showed cautious optimism about AI agents' potential.
- Gen Z reporters are wary of handing personal information to AI agents due to privacy and scam risks.
- Millennials see potential for AI agents to reduce screen time and assist with work tasks.
- Some Gen Z reporters noted that peers in finance, consulting, and tech are more open to adopting AI agents.
- Ryan Kailath, a millennial editor, found Meta's AI agent Muse failed to simplify booking travel rewards.
Business Insider's Gen Z and millennial staff have divergent views on the utility and risks of AI agents. While younger reporters expressed significant concerns about privacy and trust, their millennial colleagues are more cautiously optimistic about the technology's potential to improve efficiency.
Gen Z employees, having grown up with technology, are more aware of its limitations and dangers, leading to hesitation in sharing personal information with AI agents. Ayelet Sheffey, a Gen Z senior education reporter, stated she would not hand over control to an AI agent due to privacy concerns and a general lack of trust. Allie Kelly, a Gen Z economy reporter, is open to using AI for professional tasks but prefers to keep personal information private, especially regarding sources. Juliana Kaplan, a Gen Z senior reporter, questioned the potential for bias in AI agent recommendations if companies have deals with other businesses. Noah Sheidlower, a Gen Z senior economy reporter, is hesitant to cede decision-making authority to AI agents until they are more advanced, citing privacy invasion risks. Madison Hoff, also Gen Z, enjoys the process of research and prefers using her own cognitive abilities.
Conversely, millennial editors and reporters see potential benefits in AI agents. Bartie Scott, a millennial economy deputy editor, believes AI agents could help reduce screen time and burnout, especially through voice commands for tasks like daily work briefings. Andy Kiersz, a millennial senior economic data editor, is open to adopting AI agents after a period of proven security and usefulness, envisioning them for tedious tasks like analyzing economic papers. Ryan Kailath, an elder millennial senior editor, tested Meta's AI agent Muse for booking travel rewards but found it failed to simplify the process due to manual intervention required for login and authentication. Jacob Zinkula, a young millennial senior reporter, is also experimenting with Muse to secure a restaurant reservation but has yet to find success.