Students mainly use AI for writing support
One in three university students believes artificial intelligence could trigger civil unrest through rapid job losses, according to new research from King’s College London.
The findings capture a generation deeply embedded in AI use, but increasingly anxious about what it means for their futures.
While students are among the most active users of AI tools, they are also among the most pessimistic about its impact on jobs and economic stability.
The study suggests a widening gap between everyday reliance on AI and growing uncertainty about its consequences.
It also highlights how attitudes differ sharply across students, workers, employers and the wider public.
How Students are Using AI
The research shows just how central AI has become to student life.
Around 77% of university students use AI at least a few times a month, compared with 46% of workers. A further 27% use it daily or almost daily, embedding it into study routines at scale.
Students mainly use AI for writing support, summarising information and exam preparation. But usage is not without friction.
Nearly nine in 10 students (89%) who use AI for their studies have encountered problems with it, most commonly factual errors (37%) and made-up sources (31%).
Nearly half say these issues have caused moderate or serious problems.
Despite this, fewer than half consistently check or verify AI-generated output before using it.
Rising Anxiety over Jobs
Concerns about AI’s economic impact are widespread across all groups.
Seven in 10 workers (69%) are worried about AI-driven job losses, closely mirrored by 68% of university students and 63% of employers.
More than half of the public believes AI will eliminate more jobs than it creates, with only a small minority expecting net job growth.
The sense of risk intensifies when looking at social consequences.
One in five people (22%) believe AI could eliminate jobs fast enough to trigger civil unrest. Among university students, that rises to 34%.
More than half of students also believe AI-driven job losses would be worse than a normal recession.
There is also strong agreement that entry-level roles are most vulnerable.
Nearly six in 10 people agree with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s 2025 prediction that AI could eliminate half of all entry-level white-collar jobs within five years.
Alongside this, 65% of the public and 58% of employers believe AI’s economic benefits will mainly flow to wealthy investors and large companies.
Despite this, optimism exists in pockets.
Most employers (69%) are excited about new job opportunities from AI, as are 56% of university students. But only 28% of the public shares that view.
Divided Optimism
Attitudes towards AI remain sharply divided.
While 48% of the public would rather avoid AI and 41% say they are afraid of it, only 24% view it positively for humanity.
By contrast, university students are more positive, particularly men. Among male students, 52% say AI is positive for humanity, compared with much lower levels across the wider public.
There is also a clear gap in perceived readiness.
While 60% of university students believe universities can prepare them for an AI-shaped job market, only 36% say they are actually being prepared. Just one in five people overall believe the education system is doing enough to prepare young people for an AI-driven economy.
Yet despite concerns, most students remain committed to higher education, with 78% saying they would still choose to go to university.
However, 30% say they would choose a different subject if starting again, reflecting uncertainty about future job relevance.
The findings point to growing pressure on policymakers, universities and employers to respond more directly.
Bobby Duffy, director of the KCL Policy Institute, said:
“The public, workers, young people and university students are watching the rapid development of AI with more fear than excitement, with real concern for what it will do to jobs, particularly at entry levels, and, therefore, the prospects for our young people and the economy in general.”
Bouke Klein Teeselink, lecturer in philosophy, politics and economics at KCL, added:
“With the right training, policies and institutional support, there is a clear path forward to a more hopeful future, with rising productivity, broader opportunity, higher incomes and faster scientific progress.”
The research ultimately points to a society caught between dependence and doubt.
AI is already embedded in education and work, yet confidence in its outcomes remains fragile and uneven.
Students are both its heaviest users and among its most anxious critics, reflecting a wider generational tension about what comes next.
While employers and some student groups see opportunity, the dominant mood across the public remains cautious, even fearful.
As AI adoption accelerates, the challenge is no longer awareness, but adaptation and whether institutions can close the widening gap between technological change and public readiness.
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