Gen Z’s relationship with AI is radically different from every generation before them: they rely on it constantly, yet often feel indifferent to the power it now holds. As SORA 2 and next-generation generative systems blur the line between real and synthetic politics, “AI literacy” is becoming one of the defining civic challenges of the decade. What does democracy look like when young people are surrounded by AI that they barely notice, yet which is increasingly shaping what they know, believe and do – and how can we mitigate potential harmful effects?

In this interactive workshop, with Samuel Brielmaier (Brand New Bundestag), Alina Schütze (make.org), strategist Kevin Tiedgen (Jung von Matt Neckar), and Marta Bienkiewicz (Cooperative AI) participants will:

• Unpack Gen Z’s everyday dependence on AI—from homework helpers to algorithmic feeds—and how this silent reliance shifts information habits, political cues and trust.

• Examine how ultra-realistic generative video (SORA 2), autonomous agents, and synthetic influencers will transform campaigning, mobilisation, and narrative power

• Debate how AI literacy is emerging as a core democratic skill—and what it means when an entire generation is expected to have it but hasn’t been equipped

The session reframes Gen Z not as passive consumers in an AI-driven environment, but as the generation with the most to gain—and lose. It challenges participants to become architects of an AI-literate democratic culture before agentic technologies define it for them.