[News Terms] Living in the 22nd Century, AI Native 'Beta Generation'

Futurist Mark McCrindle Coins Term for Alpha Generation
Refers to Children Born This Year Through 2039
'AI Native' Growing Up in AI Environment from Birth

A claim has emerged that children born this year should be classified as the "Gen Beta." Most of those born between 2025 and 2039 are likely to survive into the 22nd century and are considered "AI natives" who will experience the normalization of artificial intelligence (AI) very differently from previous generations.

Mark McCrindle, an Australian demographer and futurist, recently named this generation "Gen Beta" on the website of the McCrindle Research Institute, which he leads, stating that "2025 marks the beginning of a new generation."

McCrindle has classified generations in the social sciences as follows: those born between 1925 and 1945 as the "Builder Generation," 1946 to 1964 as the "Baby Boomers," 1965 to 1979 as "Generation X," 1980 to 1994 as "Generation Y (Millennials)," 1995 to 2009 as "Generation Z," and 2010 to 2024 as the "Generation Alpha."

A child wearing a virtual reality (VR) device [Photo by AI Image]

Generation Alpha is also a term he coined. While Generation Alpha is the first generation to grow up as digital natives surrounded by digital environments from birth, Gen Beta is expected to be the first generation born into an era where AI and automation technologies are fully integrated into daily life.

As AI natives, Gen Beta is expected to grow up experiencing AI technology permeating all aspects of daily life. McCrindle explained, "For Gen Beta, the digital and physical worlds will be seamlessly connected," adding, "Unlike Generation Alpha, who experienced the rise of smart technology and artificial intelligence, Gen Beta will live in an era where AI and automation are fully embedded in everyday life?from education and work to healthcare and entertainment."

He said, "They are likely to be the first generation to experience large-scale autonomous transportation, wearable health technologies, and immersive virtual environments as standard aspects of daily life." Furthermore, he predicted, "Gen Beta's upbringing will place greater emphasis on personalization, with AI algorithms tailoring their learning, shopping, and social interactions in ways we can only imagine today."

7 Generations Classification by McCrindle [Photo by McCrindle Institute]

Since the parent generation, the MZ generation, prioritizes adaptability, equality, and environmental consciousness in parenting, Gen Beta is expected to develop a more global mindset along with a community-centered and cooperative way of thinking. In this process, Gen Beta will likely face global challenges such as climate change, global population movements, and rapid urbanization. Therefore, their upbringing is analyzed to emphasize the importance of innovation not only for convenience but also for addressing urgent issues of the era.

McCrindle predicted that Gen Beta will account for 16% of the global population by 2035. According to Statistics Korea, the life expectancy of Koreans as of 2023 is 83.5 years. A child born this year will turn 83 in 2108, so most of Gen Beta are expected to be alive in 2101, the start of the 22nd century.