CEOs and executives disagree on what AI means for Gen Z workers

For Generation Z, a younger generation entering the workforce, the rise of generative artificial intelligence has brought considerable uncertainty.

Anthropic’s CEO warns that the technology could eliminate many entry-level roles, but other executives argue that younger workers may be better positioned to succeed in an AI-powered workplace.

This debate highlights one of the biggest unanswered questions surrounding AI. The question is: Will AI eliminate the first rung of the career ladder, or will it help young job seekers climb it faster?

“I think a lot of the disagreement centers around the speed at which the transition to AI is happening,” Felix Aidala, an economist at Indeed Hiring Lab, the economic research arm of the recruiting platform, told Business Insider.

The number of entry-level job openings on Indeed has fallen by about 6% over the past year, but Aidala said it’s difficult to attribute the decline to a single factor. AI, remote work and broader macroeconomic conditions are all likely to be having an impact, he said.

Aidala added that the job market for entry-level workers is already seeing an “AI-driven shift” and has seen a “significant” increase in AI implementation roles on Indeed’s site in recent months.

“Historically, advances in technology have almost always led to increased employment across the economy, but that transformation takes time as new roles and industries develop,” Aidala said.

Hear what some CEOs and executives from the tech and business industries have to say about what AI means for the next generation of workers.

Dario Amodei, Anthropic CEO

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has become one of the leading voices warning that AI could upend traditional career ladders for young professionals.

Amodei has repeatedly said that AI could eliminate up to half of entry-level white-collar jobs in the coming years.

“As the producers of this technology, we have an obligation and an obligation to be honest about what’s going to happen,” Amodei said in an interview last year.

Matt Garman, Amazon Web Services CEO

Matt Garman, Amazon’s head of cloud, took a nearly opposite view, saying doomsday predictions about AI and jobs are greatly exaggerated.

Garman said he believes half of white-collar jobs “may change” because of AI, but that doesn’t mean they will go away. He also said the idea of ​​replacing entry-level staff with AI tools was “one of the stupidest things” he had ever heard.

On a recent episode of his podcast Platformer, Garman emphasized the value of entry-level employees, saying they are cheaper to hire, can learn about the company culture, and are often eager to learn new tools.

“They are some of the best employees you could possibly have,” he said.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, recently said that AI is still not replacing entry-level white-collar workers as quickly as hoped.

“I’m glad we were wrong on this,” he told an event hosted by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. “I would have thought by now that the impact of eliminating entry-level white-collar jobs would be greater than it actually is.”

Elizabeth Stone, Netflix Chief Product and Technology Officer

Even as AI changes the way work gets done, Elizabeth Stone, Netflix’s chief product and technology officer, said younger employees remain essential to the streaming giant’s future.

“We’re still hiring young people, and they’re very important to our talent strategy,” Stone said on a recent episode of Lenny’s Podcast.

She says younger employees can be more open-minded, more comfortable using new AI technologies, and more sensitive to changes in entertainment.

“I guarantee you that talented people early in their careers will teach older people like me a lot of new things,” Stone said.

Demis Hassabis, Google DeepMind CEO

Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, has advice for young people preparing to enter the workforce: Become an AI “ninja.”

Hassabis urges teenagers and students to immerse themselves in AI tools, arguing that those who learn the technology early will have an advantage as AI disrupts the job market.

“Whatever happens with these AI tools, it’s better to understand how they work, how they work, and what you can do with them,” Hassabis said on an episode of “Hard Fork” last year.

Garrett Lord, Handshake CEO

Garrett Lord, CEO of Handshake, a job search and AI training platform, said on an episode of Lenny’s Podcast last year that new graduates are well-prepared for success because they are “AI natives.”

Learning how to use AI is like “putting on an Iron Man suit,” Lord said.

“A lot of people are exaggerating that there will be no jobs for all young people,” Lord said, adding: “I’m not hearing that from employers.”

Sierra Co-Founder Clay Bavor

Clay Bavor, co-founder of Sierra, an AI startup that builds customer service agents, made a similar argument, arguing that AI-native graduates are entering the workforce with a pre-built advantage.

On a recent episode of the 20VC podcast, Baber said that’s because some of the company’s best employees are in their early 20s, and they’re more adept at using AI than many veteran employees.

“I can’t remember a time when a young person with no work experience but with the right mindset and experience using these tools was so valued,” Baber said.