Young adults in low-income countries see AI as path to opportunity, unlike Western peers
A survey of 1,864 young adults across Africa and South Asia shows far more optimism about AI's potential for jobs and education than their counterparts in wealthy nations, despite facing barriers like poor connectivity and high data costs.
Young adults in low- and middle-income countries are markedly more optimistic about artificial intelligence than their peers in wealthy nations, according to a new survey that challenges the job-loss narratives dominating Western debate.
The 2026 Youth AI Survey, conducted by UK-based charity Restless Development and academics from Makerere University in Uganda and Cambridge, gathered responses from 1,864 people aged 18–35 across ten countries in Africa and South Asia: Angola, Kenya, India, Nepal, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, with UK responses included for comparison.
A different conversation
While policymakers and technologists in higher-income countries fret over misinformation, job displacement, and mental health risks, the young adults surveyed in lower-income regions placed far greater emphasis on opportunity. Nearly 80% expected AI to deliver improved education and learning opportunities—a stark contrast to Western discourse.
The survey arrives as the UN Independent International Scientific Panel released a preliminary report on AI, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres noting the gap in global understanding: "The world cannot govern what it cannot understand."
Daily use, despite barriers
Two-thirds of respondents reported using AI daily, with Meta AI the most common tool, followed by Claude. That figure is striking given the obstacles most face. In every African country surveyed except Nigeria, more than half of participants cited high data costs as a barrier to access. Weak internet connections and limited digital skills were widespread concerns, with many respondents relying on basic-feature phones.
UK participants, by contrast, cited ethical concerns as the primary factor limiting their AI use—a luxury of infrastructure that younger people in lower-income countries have yet to confront.
Work and income hopes
Only 14% of respondents currently earn income directly from AI tools, yet half expected the technology to improve their employment and economic prospects within five years. Among lower-income-country respondents, the most common work-related uses were learning new skills and conducting job searches.
More than seven in ten young adults from lower-income countries thought AI would bring better education and learning opportunities in the near future.
Attitudes toward AI's employment impact were broadly positive across nearly every lower-income country surveyed, though significant pockets of concern remained. Between 32% and 50% of respondents in each country expressed worry about AI's effect on their future income—a sign that optimism is tempered by real anxiety about displacement.
A 28-year-old self-employed man in Nepal captured a common sentiment: "AI has the potential to empower young people in developing countries like Nepal by improving access to knowledge, digital skills, and economic opportunities."
A knowledge gap
Until now, little evidence existed on how young people in middle- and low-income countries actually use AI or how they perceive it. The survey seeks to fill that gap, though the mixed confidence in its findings reflects the early stage of such research. Some sources have raised questions about the generalisability of results drawn from a sample of 1,864 respondents across such diverse economies and contexts, and wider independent verification of these sentiment patterns remains limited.