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Age Differences in AI Usage and Confidence

Pagel, William LU ; Zetterman, Axel LU and Evers, Emanuel LU (2026) FEKH38 20252
Department of Business Administration
Abstract (Swedish)
Examensarbetets titel: Åldersskillnader i användning av AI och självförtroende.
Seminariedatum: 15 januari 2026
Ämne/kurs: FEKH38, Examensarbete i Business and Data Analytics, 15 ECTS
Författare: Axel Zetterman, Emanuel Evers, William Pagel
Handledare: Magnus Johansson
Nyckelord: Artificiell intelligens (AI), Organisationer, Åldersskillnader, Förtroende,
Dunning-Kruger-effekten.
Forskningsfråga: Hur skiljer sig AI-användningen bland yrkesverksamma mellan olika
åldersgrupper, och påverkar åldersskillnader förtroendet för AI-genererade resultat?
Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att ge en bättre förståelse för åldersrelaterade skillnader i
yrkesverksammas användning av AI och deras förtroende för AI-genererade resultat.
Metod: En... (More)
Examensarbetets titel: Åldersskillnader i användning av AI och självförtroende.
Seminariedatum: 15 januari 2026
Ämne/kurs: FEKH38, Examensarbete i Business and Data Analytics, 15 ECTS
Författare: Axel Zetterman, Emanuel Evers, William Pagel
Handledare: Magnus Johansson
Nyckelord: Artificiell intelligens (AI), Organisationer, Åldersskillnader, Förtroende,
Dunning-Kruger-effekten.
Forskningsfråga: Hur skiljer sig AI-användningen bland yrkesverksamma mellan olika
åldersgrupper, och påverkar åldersskillnader förtroendet för AI-genererade resultat?
Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att ge en bättre förståelse för åldersrelaterade skillnader i
yrkesverksammas användning av AI och deras förtroende för AI-genererade resultat.
Metod: En kvantitativ fallstudie av skillnader i AI-användning bland yrkesverksamma
baserat på ålder. Totalt genererade enkäten 95 användbara svar
Teoretiska perspektiv: Studien utgår från Theory of Planned Behavior & the Effect of Age
on Usage av Icek och Ajzen (1991) samt artikeln av Xu et al. (2024), “New contexts, old
heuristics: How young people in India and the US trust online content in the age of
generative AI.” Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction. Vidare beaktas
Dunning-Kruger-effekten såsom den beskrivs av Dunning och Kruger (1999)
Resultat: Inom enkät urvalet identifierades inget samband mellan ålder och användning av
AI för professionella ändamål. Yngre yrkesverksamma rapporterade dock en större rädsla för
att bli dömda av chefer och kollegor samt uttryckte ett högre förtroende för AI än sina äldre
motsvarigheter. Bland respondenter med viss AI-kunskap uppvisade yngre deltagare högre
genomsnittliga nivåer av självförtroende än äldre deltagare.
Slutsats: Studien undersökte åldersrelaterade skillnader i yrkesverksammas användning av
AI och deras förtroende för AI. Inget samband identifierades mellan ålder och AI-användning
i arbetet, vilket sannolikt kan förklaras av att respondenterna kom från organisationer som i
hög grad betonar AI-användning och medarbetarutbildning. Yngre yrkesverksamma
rapporterade dock ett högre förtroende för AI-genererade resultat än äldre kollegor, samt
uttryckte en starkare rädsla för att bli dömda för att använda AI i arbetet. Vidare observerades
högre nivåer av självförtroende bland yngre yrkesverksamma med viss förståelse för AI
jämfört med äldre yrkesverksamma med samma nivå av AI-kunnande. (Less)
Abstract
Title: Age Differences in AI Usage and Confidence
Seminar date: 15 January 2026
Course: FEKH38, Degree Project, Undergraduate level, Business Administration,
Undergraduate level, 15 ECTS
Authors: Axel Zetterman, Emanuel Evers, William Pagel
Advisor: Magnus Johansson
Keywords: Artificial intelligence (AI), Organizations, Age differences, Confidence,
Dunning-Kruger effect.
Research question: How does AI usage among professionals differ across age groups, and
do age differences affect confidence in AI-generated outputs?
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to provide a better understanding of age-related
differences in professionals' AI usage and confidence in AI-generated outputs.
Methodology: A quantitative case study of... (More)
Title: Age Differences in AI Usage and Confidence
Seminar date: 15 January 2026
Course: FEKH38, Degree Project, Undergraduate level, Business Administration,
Undergraduate level, 15 ECTS
Authors: Axel Zetterman, Emanuel Evers, William Pagel
Advisor: Magnus Johansson
Keywords: Artificial intelligence (AI), Organizations, Age differences, Confidence,
Dunning-Kruger effect.
Research question: How does AI usage among professionals differ across age groups, and
do age differences affect confidence in AI-generated outputs?
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to provide a better understanding of age-related
differences in professionals' AI usage and confidence in AI-generated outputs.
Methodology: A quantitative case study of professionals' differences in AI use based on age.
In total, the questionnaire yielded 95 usable responses.
Theoretical perspectives: The study draws on the Theory of Planned Behavior & the Effect
of Age on Usage by Icek and Ajzen (1991) and the Xu et al. (2024) article, "New contexts,
old heuristics: How young people in India and the US trust online content in the age of
generative AI." Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction. The
Dunning-Kruger effect as described by Dunning and Kruger in 1999.
Result: Within the survey sample, no relationship was identified between age and the use of
AI for professional purposes. However, younger professionals reported a greater fear of
judgment from managers and peers and expressed higher confidence in AI than their older
counterparts. Among respondents with some AI knowledge, younger participants displayed
substantially higher average confidence levels than older participants.
Conclusions: The study explored age-related differences in professionals’ AI use and
confidence. No association was found between age and AI use at work, likely because
respondents came from organizations that strongly emphasize AI adoption and employee
training. However, younger professionals reported greater confidence in AI outputs than older
peers, and expressed a stronger fear of being judged for using AI at work. Furthermore,
higher confidence levels were observed among younger professionals with some
understanding of AI than among older professionals with the same level of AI literacy. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Pagel, William LU ; Zetterman, Axel LU and Evers, Emanuel LU
supervisor
organization
course
FEKH38 20252
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Artificial intelligence (AI), Organizations, Age differences, Confidence, Dunning-Kruger effect.
language
English
id
9223139
date added to LUP
2026-02-23 12:49:41
date last changed
2026-02-23 12:49:41
@misc{9223139,
  abstract     = {{Title: Age Differences in AI Usage and Confidence
Seminar date: 15 January 2026
Course: FEKH38, Degree Project, Undergraduate level, Business Administration,
Undergraduate level, 15 ECTS
Authors: Axel Zetterman, Emanuel Evers, William Pagel
Advisor: Magnus Johansson
Keywords: Artificial intelligence (AI), Organizations, Age differences, Confidence,
Dunning-Kruger effect.
Research question: How does AI usage among professionals differ across age groups, and
do age differences affect confidence in AI-generated outputs?
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to provide a better understanding of age-related
differences in professionals' AI usage and confidence in AI-generated outputs.
Methodology: A quantitative case study of professionals' differences in AI use based on age.
In total, the questionnaire yielded 95 usable responses.
Theoretical perspectives: The study draws on the Theory of Planned Behavior & the Effect
of Age on Usage by Icek and Ajzen (1991) and the Xu et al. (2024) article, "New contexts,
old heuristics: How young people in India and the US trust online content in the age of
generative AI." Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction. The
Dunning-Kruger effect as described by Dunning and Kruger in 1999.
Result: Within the survey sample, no relationship was identified between age and the use of
AI for professional purposes. However, younger professionals reported a greater fear of
judgment from managers and peers and expressed higher confidence in AI than their older
counterparts. Among respondents with some AI knowledge, younger participants displayed
substantially higher average confidence levels than older participants.
Conclusions: The study explored age-related differences in professionals’ AI use and
confidence. No association was found between age and AI use at work, likely because
respondents came from organizations that strongly emphasize AI adoption and employee
training. However, younger professionals reported greater confidence in AI outputs than older
peers, and expressed a stronger fear of being judged for using AI at work. Furthermore,
higher confidence levels were observed among younger professionals with some
understanding of AI than among older professionals with the same level of AI literacy.}},
  author       = {{Pagel, William and Zetterman, Axel and Evers, Emanuel}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Age Differences in AI Usage and Confidence}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}