What will happen to young talent if AI eliminates entry-level jobs?

It’s no secret that the younger generation is the most comfortable using and working with artificial intelligence, but they may not get the chance to put their knowledge to good use if AI eliminates their jobs first. 

Seventy-eight percent of hiring managers anticipate that AI will lead to layoffs of recent college graduates within the next year, according to a survey of 804 recruiters in the U.S. from workplace insight platform Intelligent.com. Among them, 27% anticipate layoffs to reach up to 10% of young talent, with 6% even reporting that 70% or more of recent graduates could lose their jobs.

“Entry-level positions often involve repetitive tasks that can be more easily replaced with AI than other positions where industry experience is more heavily weighted,” says Huy Nguyen, chief education and career development advisor at Intelligent.com. “I don’t think young people are specifically targeted because of their age, it’s more likely that the positions at risk of being replaced are held by new grads just starting their career journeys with limited professional experience.”

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Over the last few months, AI has proven to be able to automate an onslaught of basic workplace tasks including email writing, data entry, research and customer support and general office support. As a result, 57% of hiring managers admitted to trusting AI more than an intern’s capabilities, according to Intelligent.com’s survey. As for new grads in full-time positions, the trend persisted: 69% of surveyed hiring managers agreed that AI can fully perform the job of a recent graduate and 56% trust the work of AI more than that of a recent graduate.

And while it’s true that increasing the amount of tech in a company’s workflow could yield a number of time-saving benefits, Nguyen also warns hiring managers and employers against acting on their beliefs just yet. 

“The promise of increased productivity and lower operating costs has not been fully realized in most cases,” Nguyen says. “Organizations would benefit from spending more time evaluating how AI might work specifically for them, rather than immediately eliminating positions.”

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Leaders aren’t the only ones leaning on AI more, according to Nguyen; individual employees are also experimenting with AI on their own to increase productivity in their current roles. This initiative is evidence that it may be more beneficial to encourage everyone to familiarize themselves with and use technology rather than using it to replace human capital. 

Instead, organizations should be promoting educational resources on AI and providing employees with hands-on experience on how to use hyper-intelligent tech in their day-to-day. But in the meantime, Nguyen recommends that recent graduates make adding AI skills to their skill set a priority so that they’re prepared for the best and worst case scenarios.

“Do not be paralyzed by this,” Nguyen says. “Focus on learning new technologies and finding opportunities to apply these skills on their own so you can show employers that you are adaptable regardless of the trends.”