PUBLISHED ONJune 15, 2026 9:20 AMBYDana LeongAs an executive assistant, Zety, who declined to give her real name, can leverage on a plethora of AI tools to automate routine tasks and write emails. But the 27-year-old chooses not to.
While AI can be used to brainstorm and generate quick answers, the time taken to fact check and refine the text generated would often exceed the amount of time it takes to manually complete those tasks without AI, she said.
Anirudh, a 27-year-old doctor, shares similar views and told AsiaOne that he prefers not to use AI since the veracity of the information generated is poor and lacks nuance.
He also argued that using AI removes the process of critical thinking and problem solving, especially for students who rely on AI to complete assignments rather than doing their own research and trying to apply concepts taught in the classroom.
A survey by AsiaOne — which polled 1,347 Singaporeans on their usage and attitudes towards AI — found that young adults under 35 share similar views as Anirudh and Zety.
The survey, conducted between Dec 30, 2025, and Feb 10 this year, found that working respondents aged below 35 were least likely to use GenAI at work.
Examples of GenAI applications at work include drafting communications, generating creative content, research and coding.
Based on the data collected, 55 per cent of working respondents under 35 use GenAI at the workplace at least weekly — a lower rate compared to those between 35 and 54 (69 per cent), and those above 55 (64 per cent).
At the same time, almost four in 10 working respondents under 35 do not use GenAI in their jobs at all (39 per cent), showing a stark difference between the other two age groups where over eight in 10 use GenAI to some extent.
Young adults also have the lowest GenAI adoption rates outside of the workplace, based on AsiaOne's findings.
Out of all the respondents below 35, almost 40 per cent do not use GenAI at all, compared with those between 35 and 54 (18 per cent) and those above 55 (27 per cent).
Respondents under 35 mostly used GenAI for learning, advice, writing, research or planning trips or events.
A majority of those under 25 also used GenAI for academic study.
A 27-year-old product manager, who wishes to be known as Wen, is one of few young adults AsiaOne spoke to that actively uses AI in her personal life.
"I use AI like a personal consultant for everyday questions," she said, adding that she uses Anthropic's Claude chatbot for complex tasks like generating financial market research and answering simpler questions like how to clean coffee stains from her bag.
A majority of the young adults that AsiaOne spoke to had negative opinions on GenAI, including Wen who recognised the potential harms it can pose on an individual and societal level.
While most agreed that GenAI is convenient way to problem-solve, many young adults were sceptical and said that AI would have detrimental impacts on an individual's thinking and reasoning in event of overreliance.
These findings closely mirrored the views of respondents under 35, who rated AI's impact on various individual and societal categories over the next 10 years.
Responses were measured using a "net impact score", which averaged responses across a five-point scale — most positive outlooks were scored as +2, most negative outlooks as -2, and "zero impact" responses were marked at 0.
Based on AsiaOne's survey, those under 35 had a net impact score of -0.75 for individual thinking and reasoning, underscoring their pessimism compared to those above 35 who had positive net impact scores.
"Students should be able to use their own cognitive skills to learn instead of using AI to feed them the answers," Zety said.
A 24-year-old corporate concierge, who wanted to be known as Louise, told AsiaOne that students often see GenAI as an easy way to get tasks done, and that GenAI is making people "lazier".
While being an active user of GenAI, Wen told AsiaOne that she is cognizant on the risks of becoming overly dependent on AI and makes a conscious effort to avoid using AI for "overly simple tasks".
Louise also mentioned the environmental impacts of using AI, given the amount of energy and water required to power data centres, especially when GenAI is used by many for trivial tasks that could instead be done with a Google search.
AsiaOne's survey also found that those under 35 had a negative net impact score (-0.94) on AI's impact on arts and culture, unlike 55 and above who had a positive net impact score (0.41).
"In terms of art, while democratisation can be useful, the ability to create is now in the hands of 'tech people' instead of artists," Anirudh told AsiaOne.
GenAI also lacks the ability to understand and express human emotion, especially when tasked with copywriting or creating art, Zety said.
AI is being promoted on a national level, with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong leading the National AI Council as announced during Budget 2026.
The council aims to promote AI literacy amongst Singaporeans, with the National AI Strategy (NAIS) focusing on 10 priorities — capabilities, compute, data, ecosystem integration, government, industry, leader in thought and action, research, talent and trusted environment.
Businesses are also increasingly encouraged to incorporate AI into their work processes, with the Government introducing initiatives such as the Enterprise Innovation Scheme, which provides 400 per cent tax deductions for qualifying activities, including AI expenditures for Years of Assessment 2027 and 2028.
A new tripartite council, comprising the National Trades Union Congress, Singapore National Employers Federation and the Ministry of Manpower, was also announced on April 30 to help workers and businesses here address the impact of AI.
Edmund Chua, who heads AsiaOne's consumer insights and analytics group, said that the results of the survey show that middle-aged working adults, in contrast to those under 35, are more likely to be using AI both at work and in their personal lives, especially so among C-suites and senior management.
"This is a sign that business leaders whom we expect to be important drivers of AI adoption in our economy are themselves proactively adopting AI in their work," he said, adding that it would be interesting to see how some senior management would also be advocating for AI adoption in their companies using softer and more social approaches, and the results of these approaches.
"It remains to be seen, how youths would respond to efforts to encourage AI adoption."
At AsiaOne, communications is both an art and a science. We conduct polls 24/7 to understand our users' perception and opinions towards social issues, as well as their consumer preferences.
Want more insights on Singaporeans' attitudes and perceptions towards social issues? Get in touch! Contact us at [email protected] to explore opportunities to undertake meaningful research.
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