The Gen Z Privilege And The Blind Spot in AI Era

Late 2022. I still remember the excitement. I pulled my classmate aside, opened my laptop, and typed a prompt into this new thing called ChatGPT. When the text streamed back, eyes widened. It felt like magic. It felt like the future.

Back then, my message to everyone was simple

"You guys need to try this. It's cool. It's going to change everything."

Fast forward to Saturday, November 1 (Late 2025). I was standing in front of 70+ people at the Soedirman Digital School event with Purwokerto Dev. I was still talking about AI. But the message had changed completely.

I wasn't there to hype the tools anymore. I was there to talk about the risks. The bias. The cognitive gap.

How did I go from a "fanboy" to a "realist"? Here is the story.

The Gen Z Privilege

We need to admit something, as Gen Z, we have a massive privilege. We adapt fast. New AI tool released? We figure it out in 10 minutes. Deepfake video on timeline? We spot the glitchy eyes in seconds.

But this privilege creates a blind spot. We often forget that not everyone sees what we see.

In the talk, I highlighted a harsh reality. While we are busy debating which LLM is faster, the older generation is struggling to distinguish between a real video call and an AI-generated scam.

Mind The Cognitive Gap

The gap between "Knowing AI exists" and "Understanding how AI works" is where the danger lies.

I call this the Cognitive Gap. Bad actors are exploiting this gap ruthlessly. From online gambling (judi online) disguised with algos, to voice cloning scams targeting parents. It's not just about financial loss anymore, in some cases, lives are at stake.

For us developers, an error is a bug in the code. For non-techies, an "error" in trusting AI can mean losing their life savings.

Our Unwritten Duty

So, what is the solution? Stop building AI? No. I am still an AI Engineer. I still code. I still build workflows. But I realized that those of us who understand the code have an unwritten obligation.

We don't need to host a grand seminar or become a keynote speaker to make a difference. The most impactful thing we can do is often the simplest: Go home and talk to your parents.

Talk to your parents and non tech friends. Explain to them:

"Mom, if you see a video of a politician speaking perfect Mandarin, check the source first." "Luke, if I call you asking for money but my voice sounds flat, call me back immediately."

We need to evolve from being just "Tech Support" who fixes the WiFi, to becoming "Ethical Guides" who help them navigate this synthetic reality.

The Compounding Effect

Imagine if every Gen Z developer or just everyone in the photo educated just one family member or one friend. It creates a compounding effect. One family educated, one friend aware.

If millions of us do this, the "Cognitive Gap" shrinks. Society becomes immune to the cheap tricks of AI scammers.

Three years ago, I thought my job was to tell people how smart AI is. Today, I realize my job is to tell people where AI fails, so they don't get hurt by it.