Study: AI is taking away entry-level jobs for young people

Artificial intelligence is killing off a significant number of entry-level jobs for younger folks who work in certain fields, a new study found.

The study from Stanford University found that "early-career workers (ages 22-25) in the most AI-exposed occupations have experienced a 13 percent relative decline in employment even after controlling for firm-level shocks." In other words, young people working in fields heavily impacted by AI — such as software development and customer support — are having a much harder time finding work.

The study looked at ADP payroll data and suggests the data about young workers could be "canaries in the coal mine" when it comes to AI-related job loss.

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 71 percent of Americans worry that "too many people will lose jobs" because of artificial intelligence. And in May, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei even predicted that AI would eventually eliminate half of all white collar jobs.

But the Stanford study did have some good news, however. Older workers in fields heavily impacted by AI hadn't seen similar declines in employment, and other entry-level fields saw job growth. So, while the data might show AI having an adverse effect on jobs, it's certainly not all or even most jobs.

As with most questions about the impact of AI, the answer is complicated. But young folks working in certain fields should certainly be aware that things could prove difficult while on the job hunt.