The Entire Generation of GenAI Won’t Have Enough Jobs
At just eight years old, many children are already using ChatGPT. By the time they turn 18, they’ll be stepping into a job market where AI is no longer just a tool—it’s the competition. In fact, several young kids in school are so eager to get ahead that they are skipping lunch to learn ‘vibe coding’, as noted by Anton Osika, founder of Lovable. We often speak of generative AI as the future of work, with leaders offering a mix of optimism and concern. While some argue AI will create more jobs, others warn it will replace them. But for Gen Z and Gen Alpha, it could mean something more deep: the end of work as we know it, and possibly a rise of the gig economy. Entry-level jobs—once the critical ramp for climbing the career ladder—are slowly being erased, not redefined. The first generation raised on generative AI may also be the first to face structural unemployment before they even get a shot. Read: An Entire Generation is Studying for Jobs that Won’t Exist Entry-Level Jobs are Dead It’s already happening. According to a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the unemployment rate for recent college graduates has spiked to 5.8%, compared to a national average of 4%. This is more than double the rate for all college graduates (2.7%). But where have the missing jobs gone? They’re not being handed to older workers—they’re disappearing altogether. They’ve been automated. At the same time, the latest generation is growing up immersed in generative AI. In the UK, more than one in five children aged eight to 12 are already using generative AI tools like ChatGPT. That’s not a cute statistic—it’s a warning sign. These kids are growing up with tools that were never designed for them, learning from systems that don’t understand childhood, and adapting to technology that’s supposed to adapt to them. Regardless, companies have rushed to implement AI-first strategies, often ignoring the fact that the next generation of workers is still learning the nascent technology. This has resulted in a pause in entry-level hires and shrinking internships. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, has issued a bleak forecast: “AI could replace 50% of entry-level white-collar jobs within the next one to five years.” If that plays out, he added that unemployment could hit 20%, a level not seen outside major economic recessions. The threat of AI taking over jobs is becoming increasingly real. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently told employees that as AI takes on more tasks in the coming years, the nature of work at Amazon will change, potentially reducing the number of corporate roles. “As we roll out more generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done. We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs,” he said. This shift is beginning to put tangible pressure on undergraduate students who are already worried about their job prospects. A report from San Francisco-based venture firm SignalFire shows that major tech companies—including Google, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Tesla—have cut fresh graduate hiring by over 50% since 2022. The sharp decline has left many students anxious about their careers. However, when it comes to software engineers, there is a high chance that there will be a need for more software engineers in the future. Todd McKinnon, CEO of Okta, is one of the recent voices pushing back against the doomsday narrative. In an interview with Business Insider, McKinnon called the fear of declining engineering jobs “laughable”. He compared the rise of AI to past tech shifts like personal computing and mobile, which ultimately expanded job opportunities rather than eliminating them. Read: We Will Need 10x More Software Engineers in 5 Years ‘Generation AI’ is Feeling the Heat This isn’t an abstract threat for young professionals—it’s already a lived reality. According to Elite Recruitments, over 52% of people aged 18–24 fear that AI will negatively impact their future careers. Gen Z is 129% more likely than older generations to be worried about AI replacing them. And the concern is valid. AI professor Tim Kapp revealed, “We’ve seen a drop of 27.5% recently in jobs in the developing world, especially entry-level jobs that are dropping extremely quickly.” Even traditionally AI-resistant domains like writing and design aren’t safe. Freelance writing gigs have dropped by 30% since ChatGPT became mainstream. Coding roles are down by 20%. Moreover, according to a report by CVL Economic, 2,04,000 jobs in the entertainment sector are projected to be significantly impacted by generative AI within just three years. That number doesn’t include freelancers or short-term contractors—the people most vulnerable and most invisible in labour data. Two-thirds of business leaders now expect AI to consolidate or replace existing job titles by 2026. That’s not a trend. That’s an extinction event. But Gen Z is Also Adapting Ironically, while Gen Z fears the job market AI is shaping, they’re also the most fluent in using the technology. They’re not just using AI—they’re forming relationships with it. Nearly half of Gen Z workers now prefer to ask AI tools for help rather than their managers or coworkers. About 51% of the Gen Z population sees AI not as a tool, but as a coworker or friend. It’s not surprising, then, that nearly 47% of them rely more on generative AI for workplace guidance than on human supervisors. In many ways, they’re better prepared to work with AI than anyone else. But that might not be enough. Because the question isn’t if Gen Z can adapt—it’s whether the job market makes room for them at all? The creative class thought it was immune. That was cute. Today’s AI can generate ad copy, legal contracts, UI mockups, marketing strategies, product descriptions, and even rough film scripts. As a result, designers are becoming AI supervisors, writers are becoming prompt engineers, and producers are becoming editors of machine-generated content. Seth Carpenter, global chief economist at Morgan Stanley, put the financial implications in stark terms: “Current generative AI technologies could affect as much as a quarter of the occupations that exist today…with associated labour costs that could reach at most $2.1 trillion.” That’s the price tag of creative obsolescence. There Will Be New Jobs—But Not for Everyone The World Economic Forum tries to paint a rosier picture. Their Future of Jobs report predicts that 92 million jobs will be displaced by 2030, followed by 170 million new ones created, for a net gain of 78 million. The catch? These “new jobs” look nothing like the old ones. Even access to AI isn’t equal. Children in private schools are three times more likely to use generative AI tools than those in public schools. This is the beginning of an AI fluency divide that will mirror, and possibly magnify, every other form of educational inequality. To be fair, not everyone is sounding the alarm. Elon Musk, for instance, calls AI the “most powerful tool for creativity that has ever been created”. According to him, it can potentially unleash a new era of human innovation.” In contrast, Sam Altman sounded an alarm on the nature of jobs of the future. “We need to face the reality that mass job elimination is coming,” Amodei said. However, the generation of generative AI isn’t worried about whether AI will steal their jobs. They’re worried because AI is making sure they never get one in the first place.
The creative class thought it was immune. That was cute.
The first generation raised on generative AI may also be the first to face structural unemployment before they even get a shot. 
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["AI", "generative AI", "ChatGPT", "Anthropic", "RAG", "R", "Go", "API", "GPT", "GAN"]
Mohit writes about AI in simple, explainable, and often funny words. He's especially passionate about chatting with those building AI for Bharat, with the occasional detour into AGI.