Social media, AI among least-trusted industries by Gen Z-ers as new data reveals Aussies’ largest ethical threats

Social media is the least trusted sector and Gen Z is increasingly turning its back on AI, an annual survey of Australia’s ethical dilemmas has found. The Governance Institute’s Ethics Index, released Monday, shows artificial intelligence has risen almost alongside embryo experimentation as one of the most difficult ethical challenges for society to navigate. Institute chief executive Katrina Horrobin said in 2025 the importance Australians placed on ethics reached an all-time high, but the survey’s results showed our “ethics expectation deficit” stayed flat. “That gap tells us people care deeply about ethics, but they’re not seeing it reflected in the world around them,” she said. “Nowhere is this more evident than in the public’s response to artificial intelligence.” “AI has surged to become the third most pressing ethical challenge and is now ranked as the second most difficult future development to ethically navigate, just one point behind embryo experimentation.” For its Ethics Index, the Governance Institute commissioned polling on 1000 people, weighted for age, gender and location to represent Australia’s adult population demographics. Ethical challenges around the cost of living and housing lessened since 2024, the survey found, while issues surrounding AI and cybersecurity intensified. The effects of inflation on housing and healthcare remained people’s top concern, followed by housing affordability, increasing use of AI, cybersecurity and then the economy and unemployment in fifth spot. One-third of Gen Z (roughly 13 to 25-year-olds) see AI as a top-three challenge, up from 24 per cent the year before. Boomers are second-most worried about the effects of AI, the survey says. “The demand for AI tech companies to prevent their platforms from being used for deception remains the top concern,” the Governance Institute report says. “This is closely followed by a stronger call for transparency, requiring AI users to acknowledge when generative AI has been used to create content.” Respondents say social media data collection is universally unethical, the social media industry is only more unethical than the media industry. “There is a relatively more extreme negative reaction to social media platforms, with one-in-four through to one-in-five Australians feeling that they are very unethical,” the survey finds. TikTok is seen as the least ethical, closely followed by X (formerly Twitter), then Facebook and then Instagram. “Australia today is largely an AI taker, not a maker. The tools millions of Australians rely on are designed and governed overseas,” AI and business tech expert Tim Trumper said. “Yet when Australian companies deploy them, they are responsible for the impact on customers and society. “Strong ethical standards inside your organisation are essential, but they do not insulate you from accountability.” The survey covers a breadth of topics. Compared to last year, more people say a chief executive being paid $300,000, $600,000 or $3m is unethical. Efforts to increase cultural diversity in work places is increasingly seen as a “somewhat ethical” endeavour and support by a majority of respondents. Companies using AI are also increasingly seen as unethical compared to last year’s results. Gen Z respondents have swayed from saying the practice is ethical, to leaning unethical in the space of a year. As a majority, only Millennials still want to see corporations using artificial intelligence.