Young People Hate AI CEOs So Passionately That It's Almost Hard to Believe

A decade ago young adults flocked to tech giants like Google and Apple for exciting cutting-edge jobs, but by 2026 that uncritical admiration has evaporated. CNBC's Generation Labs surveyed more than 1,000 US adults aged 18–34 about politics, AI, and the economy, including their trust in nine executives overseeing AI companies. The results were dismal across the board.

Palantir's Alex Karp scored worst, with 81% saying they don't trust him, while Microsoft's Satya Nadella fared best but still only earned 35% trust. Peter Thiel was distrusted by 79% of respondents, Mark Zuckerberg by 71%, Elon Musk by 70%, and Sam Altman by 69%. These extremely poor approval ratings stem from concerns about data privacy, purposeful platform decay, and erosion of democracy, according to the article.

Ironically, AI itself and the data centers powering it polled better than tech CEOs: 45% said AI will negatively affect their careers, 40% believe the US government should regulate AI, and 60% think data center construction should slow down. The comparison is complicated by differing question formats, but it's noteworthy that even the infrastructure of the AI boom is less unpopular than the billionaires behind it.