The Future Report: Why young people must help shape the future of AI
Editor’s Note: Google's 2026 report, created with youth consultancy Livity, explores how teens across the UK navigate the digital world, from using AI to seeking balance online. In a guest series, we invite experts — ranging from child safety to digital rights — to share what they believe the report says about the future of digital policy, covering everything from parental support to the need for better regulatory guardrails. The views of these experts do not necessarily reflect those of Google. We are pleased to share their insights.
Too often, discussions about AI are framed as though the future is something that will simply happen to the next generation. Technology companies will build it, governments will regulate it and young people will adapt to the consequences.
Yet the conversations we worked with Livity and Google as part of this project revealed a different perspective. Young people are not asking whether AI is coming; they know it already is. The questions they are asking are more fundamental: how do we choose to use new technologies, and who gets to call the shots?
Throughout our events, young people spoke with remarkable thoughtfulness about both the opportunities and the risks that emerging technologies present. They are already using AI to learn, create and solve problems, while also demonstrating a clear awareness of the challenges posed by misinformation, manipulated content and declining trust in online information.
In an age where AI can shape public debate, influence political narratives and blur the distinction between fact and fiction, these are not simply technological questions. They are questions about democracy, accountability and trust.
What stood out most was that young people were looking for a more ambitious response than simply being protected from the future. They want to help shape it.
The Future Report reflects a generation that is engaged, informed and ready to contribute. Young people are not seeking a seat at the table because they believe they have all the answers. They are asking to be involved because they recognise that the decisions being made today about AI, digital platforms and information ecosystems will have profound implications for their lives in the present and future.
They want to help answer the questions that will define the future: how these technologies should be used, what safeguards should exist, and what values should guide their development.
For My Life My Say, this is perhaps the most important lesson from the report. The future of AI will not be determined by technology alone. It will be shaped by the choices society makes about its design, governance and use. If those choices are to command public trust and strengthen our democracy, young people cannot be treated simply as end users of technology. They must be recognised as stakeholders in the decisions that shape it.
This report demonstrates that young people are ready for that responsibility. The challenge now is whether our institutions, policymakers and technology companies are prepared to involve them in creating the answers.
