For a fair, just, and sustainable digital future, young people must be empowered with real roles in AI policymaking and governance, moving beyond consultation to meaningful co-creation and leadership.
The stakes: jobs, justice, and the environment
AI now decides who gets hired for internships and first jobs, as more companies across Europe automate CV scanning and candidate selection. But AI doesn’t guarantee fairness. Amazon’s now-notorious recruitment tool taught itself to penalise CVs containing the word “women,” quietly excluding candidates from underrepresented groups. No matter how carefully a system is designed, it can easily inherit or reinforce real-world bias. Even under the new EU AI Act, which aims to reduce risks and hold companies accountable, young jobseekers still have little or no information about how their data is used, and almost no way to challenge an automated rejection.
Climate: the hidden footprint of AI
AI is not just lines of code. The cloud is, in reality, a network of data centres that devour energy. In Europe, booming demand for data and AI calculations means these centres could use up 30% more electricity by 2030, threatening the continent’s climate goals and raising tough questions for a generation that will bear the brunt of climate change. Mega-centres in Spain, Germany, Italy, and the UK may need up to 100 gigawatts by 2035, pushing national grids to their limit and drawing from energy that could otherwise support communities or fuel renewable transitions. Without youth input, such choices risk ignoring those whose futures depend on a healthier planet.
Rights, protests, and privacy
For young activists, AI means the risk of being watched. At a 2023 protest against fossil fuels in Vienna, Austrian police used facial recognition to identify and photograph climate activists, charging those who did not voluntarily disclose their IDs. After public outcry and advocacy by privacy organisations, all 165 charges were finally dropped, but only after many faced legal threats and stress. The EU AI Act restricts broad biometric surveillance in public, but as technology races ahead, legal protections struggle to catch up, and youth are vulnerable on the frontline of social change.
Mental health and exploitation online
Recent leaks from inside Meta showed that company chatbots were allowed to engage children in conversations with romantic or even sensual overtones — risking psychological harm to youth who are already isolated or struggling with loneliness. The EU AI Act bans systems that exploit children’s vulnerabilities, but enforcement is nowhere near robust, and tech companies rarely consult with youth before rolling out new features.
What’s missing: meaningful youth governance
Despite youth being the digital generation, genuine pathways for participating in AI governance remain rare. The Council of Europe’s Declaration on Youth Participation in AI Governance (2020) set a promising precedent, but in practice, youth voices are often confined to one-off consultations or non-binding advisory roles. Elsewhere, other countries show the way: South Korea has created a digital platform for direct youth input on tech policy, while in Belgium ordinary citizens (including youth) debated national AI strategy and made real policy recommendations — demonstrating the power of properly structured public involvement in setting tech rules.
Toward real power
What Europe needs now is a true commitment to co-creation, with seats for youth on the committees that matter, involvement in AI strategy bodies, and resources for youth-led research and advocacy. This means embedding digital literacy in education for all, organising citizen assemblies with real power, and ensuring tech regulation is never done “to” youth but “with” youth shaping every decision.
Conclusion: claiming the digital future
AI is not just a tool, but a mirror for society’s values. If young people are to inherit a fair digital future, their voices must be central in deciding how technology works and how power is held to account. Europe’s AI revolution will only succeed if its youth are at the table — not just as users, but as ethical innovators, rule-setters, and watchdogs for the common good.