Caring for the Future: a Council of Europe expert reads “The Future Report”
Google's important new study, The Future Report, in conjunction with youth consultancy Livity, is an extensive survey of young Europeans’ views on the digital future. Over 7,000 teenagers aged 13 to 18 from France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Sweden took part in the study. The report offers a mostly positive view of young people’s ability to manage their digital lives and depicts them as being largely “curious, critical and hopeful” about the future.
What is immediately apparent from the report is that young people have already incorporated future technologies into their everyday lives. 40% of young people surveyed use AI tools daily or almost daily. The majority of young respondents use AI tools at least several times a week for various learning and creative activities, from schoolwork to using them as search engines, for writing or content production, or learning a new language.
Most young people believe that AI is beneficial and has been helpful, for example, in explaining complex topics in various ways (47%), providing instant feedback (42%), or making learning more engaging and enjoyable (38%). Indeed, 81% of those who have used such tools report that AI has helped them improve one or more aspects of their learning or creativity either ‘somewhat’ or ‘greatly’.
When it comes to engaging with digital platforms, most young people (57%) report discovering new topics, interests, hobbies, or other content daily or almost daily. They cite algorithmic recommendations (27%), content shared by friends (24%), and actively searching for topics (19%) as the main ways to find new content. Personalised recommendations are mostly regarded as helpful, and 56% say they help uncover ‘genuinely interesting content’.
Verbatim quotes from participants illustrate this hopeful and positive outlook. "AI is one of humanity’s greatest tools for self-improvement," says one 16-year-old from Italy. Others highlight its potential to foster social inclusion, improve healthcare, and break down barriers to learning.
However, participants also articulate some of the tensions they experience in managing their digital lives and reflect on some of the inherent ambivalence they feel towards digital technology. Teens, for example, expressed fears that AI might “partly replace thinking skills” or cause them to “develop worse skills”. They also worry about over-reliance on AI and emphasise that AI “shouldn’t do the thinking for you”. They are also alert to issues of information trustworthiness and describe the multiple strategies needed to cross-check information with more trusted outlets or textbooks and to check for bias in information they discover online.
Notably, the Future Report advocates for increased focus on developing digital literacy skills, ensuring safety, providing age-appropriate experiences and fostering digital balance rather than limiting teenagers’ access or their rights as users to services that are now vital to their lives. As such, the report offers a welcome counterbalance to many pessimistic narratives about young people’s engagement in the digital world.
The report also highlights the digital citizenship skills that young people will require to thrive in a digital future. According to the report, young people “expect a seat at the table in shaping that future” and regard their involvement as a “vital necessity for creating a future where technology truly serves us all”. They also express a clear desire for formal training and guidance from educators on responsible AI use, as well as responsible and transparent design from industry. As a 14-year-old from Spain stated: “I want to know what happens to the things I put into (AI chatbots), if it saves them or not, and if someone can see it later. That should be clear”.
The Future Report offers a significant opportunity for a genuine debate about young people envisioning and shaping the digital future. If young people are to benefit from the many advantages of digital technologies and be active citizens in cultivating more equitable and just societies, their views should be heard and supported.
Brian is the Policy Lead for the Better Internet for Kids programme, which is coordinated by European Schoolnet (EUN) on behalf of the European Commission. He is also a member of the Council of Europe’s Expert Group on Digital Citizenship Education. Brian has previously held several influential positions within the online safety sector: he was the Deputy Chair of Ireland's National Advisory Council for Online Safety (NACOS) and previously chaired the Irish government’s task force on Internet Content Governance, and the Steering Group for Media Literacy Ireland.
