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MIT Tech Review asks kids about AI: 57% of US teens use chatbots for search, and the sharpest critiques are about water and creativity
MIT Technology Review interviewed seven young people aged 10 to 18 across six US states and Ontario, set against February 2026 Pew Research data showing 57% of US teens use chatbots for information searches, 54% for schoolwork, 47% for entertainment and 12% for emotional support — with teens 4x more likely to use AI for benign than harmful purposes. The interview answers cut against the cheating narrative: one teen said 'I'm afraid it's going to be the end of creativity and critical thinking,' another focused on data centers using 'enormous amounts of water' and raising local temperatures, and a third compared current AI to early automobiles — 'crude' and 'not actually good yet.'
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