Young people’s perspectives on an AI-enabled future
EY Foundation is a social mobility charity supporting young people from low-income backgrounds to have the same employment and earnings potential as other young people in the UK.
Alongside delivering paid work experience and employability skills training to young people eligible for Free School Meals, EY Foundation has been exploring how we can build a more inclusive future of work. In January 2025, their AI and Social Mobility report outlined the huge potential, and possible risks, AI could pose for social mobility.
Nearly a year on since the report, EY Foundation is delivering a number of projects that use AI to transform social mobility. Key to this work is ensuring the voices of young people are included in conversations around how AI is developed and deployed in areas that affect them.
Three EY Foundation alumni, now studying at university or completing their degree apprenticeships share their thoughts on how AI is impacting them.
Meet the contributors
Jennifer is a software engineering apprentice and took part in a Smart Futures programme in 2024. She has supported the EY Foundation’s work in ensuring the future of work through representing the Foundation at numerous tech policy events.
Huma is in her second year at Manchester Metropolitan studying Artificial Intelligence and Data Science. She took part in Smart Futures programme in 2022 and has since represented the voice of young people as part of the Foundation’s Youth Advisory Board.
John, currently in his second year of studying Finance and Investment Management at Northumbria University, took part in a EY Foundation Smart Futures programme in 2021. He has worked closely with the EY Foundation as a member of their Youth Advisory Board.
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How do you think AI could help you in your learning or career journey?
Jennifer: As a software engineer apprentice, AI can help me identify errors and bugs in my code and suggest hints to fix them. This makes coding more efficient, as bugs and errors can often be difficult to spot at first glance.
Huma: AI helps me manage my time more efficiently by organising tasks and priorities. I also use it to brainstorm ideas and as a tutor when I need help understanding complex topics. In my career, I see AI as a tool to streamline work, analyse data, and create inclusive solutions that make a real impact.
John: I think AI can be a true game-changer for learning and education. AI can reduce barriers to learning for students by explaining concepts at the user’s understanding level and generating exercises to confirm their understanding, most flagship models like Gemini and GPT have already integrated this into as one of their LLM’s main use cases through the ’Study’ or ‘Learn’ toggle.
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What kinds of support or training would help you feel prepared to work alongside AI in the future?
Jennifer: I believe mandatory training on AI, especially to do with AI ethics and laws, will help me feel prepared to work alongside it. In addition, I think each company should have its own tailored AI system and provide training on how to use it within the workspace. This will make employees and future employees, like myself, understand and apply the technology responsibly in their specific environment.
Huma: I’d like more hands-on experience with real people, not just learning behind a screen. Working on real projects would help me understand how AI can be used across industries and in everyday life. Having a mentor to guide me, along with practical training on responsible and ethical AI, would make me feel more confident and prepared to work alongside it in the future.
John: Students absolutely need to get some scheduled, hands-on time with AI throughout their course to understand best practices on how to leverage it within your course with academic integrity, potentially learning from their classmates throughout this process too. In terms of training in the workplace, I think a similar scenario would also be effective for entry-level roles; being able to learn from more senior peers about how they are able to leverage AI to improve their workflow. In short, I believe the aforementioned would lead to junior employees having much higher confidence in their ability, similarly, I think students would feel more confident using AI tools to make their learning more efficient after having that dedicated session with peers.
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What worries you about AI?
Jennifer: My biggest worry with AI is the ethical and moral considerations that come with it. For example, in generative AI, the use of creators' artwork as part of their training can be problematic if those creators aren’t rightfully credited or compensated. It is important to balance innovation with fairness, especially towards individuals whose work makes these technologies possible.
Huma: I worry about bias and inequality within AI systems. If AI is trained on biased data, it can reinforce unfair outcomes and exclude underrepresented groups. I also worry about people becoming too dependent on technology and losing human connection or empathy. That’s why I believe it’s so important that AI is developed with fairness, transparency, and diversity at its core.
John: What worries me most about AI is the prospect of the job market and universities not being able to adapt quickly enough to build the right skills for the new AI economy. This is why discussions like these are so important, to shed light on what can be done now to prevent that.
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If you could design an AI tool for young people, what problem would you want it to solve?
Jennifer: I would design an AI tool for young people to address the lack of opportunities available to those from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Though opportunities may exist, they are scattered and difficult to find. This AI tool would scan the internet and place all these opportunities in one central platform where young people can easily discover, apply for and attend programs, internships, and learning opportunities.
Huma: I’d design an AI-powered mentoring and development tool for young people, especially girls. It would go beyond career guidance to help build confidence, digital skills, and a growth mindset. The tool would offer personalised advice, learning resources, and wellbeing support, helping young people understand their strengths and reach their potential. Many don’t have access to mentors or networks, so this AI tool would bridge that gap and empower the next generation to step confidently into their futures.
John: If I could design an AI tool I think it would ultimately be an AI tutor app, I think it would be cool to have a digital twin (s) of your lecturer/module tutors. This would solve so many barriers for students, especially those for that suffer from a disability or lack the confidence to speak in class, they would now be able to engage with their module tutor in the same manner and get tailored learning based on their progress within the course. I anticipate something like this will eventually be created, but I think the current limitation lies in LLM token cost and GDPR.
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Do you think young people should have a role in the way AI is used? If so, in what way?
Jennifer: Young people are the future generation, and since AI is here to stay, they should have a role in the way AI is used. Their role should include what AI tools are being designed and targeted towards them, as well as being taught how AI is used and how they can leverage it in future workplaces, so they too can be at the forefront of this innovation.
Huma: Absolutely. Young people should be involved in shaping how AI is developed and used because we’ll be the generation working most closely with it. We bring fresh perspectives and can help ensure AI is fair, ethical, and inclusive. Having young people involved in design discussions, ethics boards, and policymaking would make AI more reflective of society as a whole.
John: I definitely think young people should have a role in the way AI is used, considering the impact it poses on all of us as a society. Young people should have an open dialogue with AI companies to voice their concerns and get them heard by key stakeholders that have the power to foster positive AI innovation.
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When you imagine your own future career, what role do you think AI will play?
Jennifer: As a software engineer apprentice and aspiring software engineer, I see AI playing a huge role in improving the efficiency at which code is written and the accuracy in bug and error detection and mitigation. AI tools like Copilot are already being used alongside software engineers, and I see that becoming more widely used across the industry.
Huma: AI will play a major role in my future career. Whether I’m working in tech innovation, digital inclusion, or social impact projects, I see AI as a tool that will help design smarter and more efficient solutions. My goal is to use AI to bridge gaps between people and opportunities, making processes easier, workplaces more inclusive, and technology more human-centred.
John: I anticipate AI playing a big role in my future career, in any finance role- I am certain that a lot of money will be invested into these AI companies and I am sure that AI will be used to improve workflows all throughout the business. This is how I imagine AI is being used at its current skill level, but AI keeps getting better, so, who knows what else we will be using it for by then. However, AI will undoubtedly be prevalent in my career and I am excited to see it!
EY Foundation is working with the University of Nottingham to research how employers can meaningfully engage with young people to ensure their voices are included in decisions on how AI is developed and deployed. We welcome any employer keen to explore how their work impacts young people to get in touch with [email protected].
Together we can build a more inclusive future for all.
Contributors
Huma Kiyani
BSc (Hons) Artificial Intelligence and Data Science Student , The Manchester Metropolitan University
Jennifer Eze
Software Engineering Apprentice
John Walker
Bsc Finance and Investment Management Student, Northumbria University
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