African Gen Zs and millennials: Age, generative AI, and privacy

Generative Artificial Intelligence tools like ChatGPT, Meta AI, and Meta AI continue raising questions about ethics, job safety, and privacy. Africans are using these tools, despite the uncertainty, and their approach depends on which generation they belong to. Three African millennials, six Gen Zs, and one Gen Xer from Ghana, Kenya and Benin Republic share their experiences with these tools.

The digital natives

Lisa Lena is a Kenyan millennial who works in the International Student Office of her college in Germany. She “runs” to ChatGPT for answers to class or office questions. She explains that AI is now her “go-to” place for answers, and has replaced search engines such as Google. “I do this as it is more personal, the answer will start with a greeting starting with: “Hello Lisa”. Lena explains that she no longer has to go through a list of articles in order to find the answer, and neither does she have the time.

Millennials (also known as Gen Y) are They are characterized by their pursuit of efficiency and convenience. They also rely on digital tools in order to save time. Lena is not an exception.

She explains, “Nowadays, I focus more on actually living my life. That means I want to finish working and have three hours of leisure and connection with other people after work.” AI has given her the time she needs to pursue these things, which are what “makes life meaningful” for her.

Multitasking is another aspect of these technologies which makes life more enjoyable. Josephine Opar is a Kenyan-American student and communications officer in Nairobi. She uses AI both for work and leisure. Opar says that AI has made multitasking easier for her. “I like to listen to my notes while walking, so that I don’t have choose between exercising and reviewing.” Opar uses AI tools at least “once every two days.” She also uses virtual assistants, like Siri, to open apps on the phone and convert her audio notes while she is driving.

While Generation Y may enjoy the comfort and ease of using these tools, they are also aware of the downsides.

Ephraim modise, a senior copywriter from Botswana who is a millennial, is adamant about AI’s limitations, even though he believes in its upsides. He uses Grammarly and ChatGPT every day to refine his work tasks, make plans and ask “Google like questions.” His confidence can be seen in the bold “any roadblocks (19459046]could be ChatGPT’d,” but it wasn’t always that way. He was initially hesitant to use AI because of hallucinations.

AI hallucinationsthat are incorrect or “nonsensical”. IBM) results that AI model generates are not new for frequent AI users.

‘Hallucination is a concern to me as my line of business requires accuracy. Modise explains that you can manage hallucinations by double-checking your output.

Despite AI concerns, many millennials have no problem adapting to this technology. Lena, for example, is not worried about AI-induced insecurity of employment, even though people are losing jobs due to AI.

She says, “The things that are being done will be more efficient.” “If, in the process of implementing this technology, people lose their job, we have no control over that.” In my field, for example, there’s a lot to say about AI replacing many things, and a number of people are opposed. The rest of us, however, are more like, “Tell us what to do, and we’ll do it. And when we get too old to keep up, we’ll just retire.” “I can do better work with this new technology as long as I try to keep up with the times and look for things,” she says.

The millennial users are not united by blind enthusiasm, but by their intentionality. They use AI for a lighter workload, but also know when to apply their human judgement and ask better questions.

Digitally fluent Generation

Gen Zs have a high level of digital fluency and adaptability to new technology. They are also known for being sceptical about unverified information. They are comfortable with digital tools and have grown up using the internet. However, they are also aware of privacy and misinformation. Kofi Boadu Peprah, a Ghanaian Gen-Z lawyer, says that AI is helpful but not trustworthy enough to handle everything. Boadu Peprah, a Ghanaian Gen Z lawyer, says he uses ChatGPT, but not often. He says AI is helpful, but it can be misleading, particularly in Law, where information is jurisdictional.

Boadu Peprah’s main concerns with AI are privacy issues, especially as AI is constantly evolving and its scope is expanding.

Boadu Peprah is concerned about AI’s changing scope and privacy risks while others in his generation are

Lebohang Mashiloane is a Gen Z ICT Library intern in South Africa. She shares her concern that “people will lose their jobs and the poor would be poorer.”

Mashiloane suggests that to reduce the risk of job losses, “youth must upskill with AI-related classes.”

Mashiloane warns about another growing threat: “People don’t know their digital footprint.” They forget that the Internet doesn’t forget.

Risks or concerns don’t stop her from using AI. She describes AI as a “friend” and uses ChatGPT and Grammarly to do her work, school and social activities. Her Gen Z friends are “obsessed with using their gadgets fully” and use AI features in their cameras. She adds that “the AI features instantly edit images so they don’t have to waste any time editing.” Face recognition is another cool feature they enjoy. A picture is taken when someone smiles.

Elisa Capololo a Gen Z system analyst from Angola reflects a similar mix of enthusiasm and caution. “If we completely rely on AI, it could be problematic. She says that over-dependence on AI could lead to a decline of our critical thinking skills and make us mentally lazy.

Capololo admits she doesn’t use AI for all tasks, but it does save her time when she does. Capololo has noticed that among her Gen Z friends there is a growing trend of using AI to generate code, or vibe coding.

Gloria Ondieki is a Gen Z backend programmer and tour operator based in Nairobi. She uses AI to identify code errors. “Fixing bugs and code errors is no longer a three day grueling task. She says it only takes a few mouse clicks to figure out where she went wrong. Tertius Ajaoke, an undergraduate Gen Z student in computer science from Benin Republic, studying in Nigeria, uses Grok for debugging code and generating pseudo codes for assignments. He uses ChatGPT for academic tasks to explain concepts such as Dijkstra’s algorithms in simple terms, or to provide a Python version.

The creator economy

While Adjaoke relies on AI to code, others, like Grace Mwangi a Kenyan content creator and student based in Dubai, use AI to express their creativity.

Mwangi, a YouTuber and Instagram creator of content, uses AI tools to edit video and develop characters. ChatGPT in particular helps her create catchy reel scripts, hashtags, and other content that increases engagement.

Ondieki uses hers not for social media but for real-time interaction. Ondieki, like Mashiloane calls generative AI “her best friend” when it comes to “curating unique experiences” in her role as a tour guide. Ondieki, along with her African Gen Z peers is concerned that AI will take over people’s jobs. She says that the people who will succeed in the job market are those who master AI and use it for their advantage.

Aside from jobs, Ondieki notes that her friends have “fed AI, especially ChatGPT” information to create a perfect friend with whom to converse. This is similar to how many of their generation turn to AI as a virtual therapist.

But it is true that no matter how long or well AI can hold a discussion, it will not be able to replicate the warmth and empathy of a human. “AI will never replace human touch.” Ondieki admits that the AI will always be dependent on us.

African Generation Zs are familiar with AI technology, but don’t blindly trust it. They understand how AI can improve productivity in their studies, side gigs, and day jobs. But they also see the potential downsides. This generation is asking all the right questions. The hard part may be figuring out the best way to use AI, without getting lost in it.

The Generation Y and Z are worried about the dark side of AI. Hallucinations. Over-reliance. Job displacement. Boadu Peprah warns against losing the ability to reason. Even the most enthusiastic AI users are aware that it is powerful, but still flawed. It is shaped by humans and how they use it.

The real story is that the future of education, work, and creativity in Africa will not be shaped by the use of AI by one generation, but rather by how humans can leverage their strengths and skills through technology innovation. Mark your calendars for

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