'How else are people going to learn to do the job': MIT AI expert warns against automating Gen Z entry-level jobs

• AI has well-documented productivity benefits, but automating entry-level roles is a bad idea
• No Gen Z workers means no learning on the job from early on, therefore no future talent
• Younger workers are also more likely to drive AI adoption in the first place

MIT researcher Andrew McAfee has warned companies could risk damaging their future workforce if they replace entry-level workers with AI today.

By filling some of the lowest pay grades with AI, Gen Z workers will not only be left without jobs, but they won't have the experience to be able to progress into higher paying jobs, ultimately causing a major disruption across the talent pipeline.

McAfee praised junior roles for providing apprenticeship-style and on-the-job learning by doing routine tasks alongside more experienced staff, but automation would remove this entirely.

Why replacing entry-level workers with AI is a bad idea

As well as causing disruptions to talent supply later on down the line (and we've already seen the countless reports on today's talent shortages), companies could also lose access to AI-savvy talent. Gen Z workers are among the most frequent AI users, making them integral a company AI adoption. With fewer younger hires, companies would ultimately end up with fewer AI 'power users'.

All of that being said, McAfee fully acknowledged the short-term efficiency gains that attract so many companies to automate many of their entry-level roles.

However, reducing Gen Z intake could slow their AI transformation efforts and leave them in an awkward position with insufficient AI and insufficient human workers.

Despite advice from the likes of MIT's McAfee, entry-level job postings are down from last year and even more so compared with pre-pandemic levels, per Handshake data. Monster also notes that 89% of this year's graduates fear that their job risks being taken by AI.

That's not a blanket trend, though – some companies, particularly in the tech sector, have been increasing graduate hiring to build AI capability early on.

Ultimately, McAfee's comments demonstrate that the AI boom isn't simply about automating as many roles as possible, but rather it's about scaling appropriately with AI assistance.

Via Fortune

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