ESSENTIAL READING · PAPER 09
The AI generation gap: Are Gen Z students more interested in adopting generative AI than their Gen X and millennial teachers?
Chan, C. K. Y., & Lee, K. K. W. (2023). The AI generation gap: Are Gen Z students more interested in adopting generative AI than their Gen X and millennial teachers? Smart Learning Environments, 10.
FOUND
Gen Z students are significantly more eager to adopt generative AI than their Gen X and millennial teachers — an intergenerational adoption gap inside every institution.
MEANS
Policies written by the cautious generation govern the eager one: a quiet legitimacy problem sits underneath every campus AI policy.
SI DATA
Our Global University AI Policy Audit 2026 shows who writes the rules (77% of universities now publish them); Chan & Lee show who the rules are for \u2014 and the two groups want different things.