A decade ago, young adults often looked to major tech firms for career growth and innovation. In 2026, the sentiment toward tech leadership has shifted dramatically. A recent survey from CNBC’s Generation Labs highlights a significant disconnect between young Americans and the executives running the biggest artificial intelligence companies.
The poll gathered responses from over 1,000 adults aged 18 to 34 regarding their views on the economy, politics, and the rapid expansion of machine intelligence. When asked who they trust to handle artificial intelligence responsibly, participants expressed overwhelming skepticism toward industry leaders. Palantir CEO Alex Karp faced the highest level of distrust at 81 percent. Even the best-performing executive in the group, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, only secured a 35 percent trust rating from the participants.
Other notable figures fared poorly as well. Peter Thiel, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Sam Altman all saw distrust ratings near or above 70 percent. These figures represent a broader cooling toward the tech sector. Many young adults cite concerns over data privacy, the degradation of information quality online, and broader worries about the impact of corporate power on democratic processes.
Beyond individual leaders, the industry faces pushback on its operational growth. Forty-five percent of respondents believe artificial intelligence will hurt their long-term career prospects, and a clear majority calls for stricter government regulation of the field. Additionally, 60 percent of those polled want a slowdown in the construction of new data centers. While the technology itself is unpopular, the people directing the industry are currently viewed with even greater suspicion by the younger demographic.