The British Council has published a poll of young people in the UK on artificial intelligence in screen entertainment, released on 13 October 2026. Its headline finding is that 46% of respondents aged 16 to 24 would be less likely to watch a film or TV programme if AI had been used extensively in making it, although a similar share also think the technology could improve quality.
Censuswide questioned 2,001 people in that age band who watch film or TV at least occasionally, with fieldwork running from 16 to 22 September. Human input ranks high: 74% say human creativity should stay central and expect human-made work to feel more original, 71% prefer productions made mainly by people, and 63% say that knowing AI was used makes an emotional connection harder. A further 62% worry AI could make productions look too alike, and 64% want artists and creative teams to lead decisions about how it is used.
“people don't want to be passive recipients of new creative technology, they want a say in how it's shaped and how it's used.”
Chantal Harrison-Lee, Interim Director of Arts, British Council, in the British Council release · britishcouncil.org ↗
Disclosure is the clearest demand. About 90% want mandatory disclosure of AI use, either always or when it informed a major creative decision, and 73% are interested in a formal label or certification scheme. Expectations are strongest for cinema films (71%), TV (70%) and streaming films (69%), and majorities also want it for online creators' videos and advertising. Spreekbuis, the Dutch outlet that covered the findings, puts those last two at 66% and 64%.
Comfort depends on the task. Some 49% are comfortable with AI doing support work such as budgeting, scheduling and audience analysis, against 23% who are not, but 53% are uncomfortable with it altering or replicating an actor's appearance, voice or performance. Confidence in spotting the technology is high, as 81% believe they can always, often or sometimes tell when content is AI-made, while only 36% think more AI would make UK film and TV more distinctive globally.
The British Council reads the results as a generation that is neither for nor against AI: young people accept it more readily as a support tool than as a replacement for creators. It says openness about AI use and real creative oversight will be key to keeping audience trust. The poll follows its earlier research ranking film and TV as the UK cultural export with the most potential to shape global culture, and its report Why Technology Needs Artists.
The release also draws on director Danny Boyle, who used generative AI in a small part of his film Ink and is cited as saying that what 20-year-olds think matters most. Spreekbuis adds separate context that is not part of the poll: a Riffkit analysis of 1,504 AI TikTok videos, and a June 2026 US study in which an AI label reduced selection of a programme by 23%.
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