Young Australians worry AI will shrink job prospects, but use it anyway

Australia’s first AI-fluent work cohort is embracing the technology, despite most believing it will lead to fewer jobs. A new Microsoft Australia survey found Gen Z workers, those aged under 28, were approaching artificial intelligence at work with “cautious optimism”. Microsoft ANZ National Technology Officer Sarah Carney said the study found 71 percent of young Australians worried that AI could lead to fewer jobs, yet eight in 10 said their AI skills had boosted their visibility with leaders and influence in shaping strategy. “Our first AI-fluent generation is moving fast with technology, but with eyes wide open,” Ms Carney said. She said survey of early-career professionals across Australia, conducted in August, showed a generation navigating simultaneous optimism and career anxiety about the same technology. “Rather than letting fear hold them back, this is fuelling Gen Z to take charge of their careers, using AI to work smarter while keeping a critical eye on its outputs.” Ms Carney said 83 percent reported that senior leaders had asked them for help or ideas on using AI and 78 percent had introduced a new AI tool, workflow, shortcut, or prompt “hack” that was later adopted more broadly. She said a digital divide was emerging that risked creating a two-speed workforce, with 30 percent of young workers saying they were not given access to AI tools from their employer, raising organisational data security and confidentiality concerns. “AI should be a launchpad for every worker, not a privilege for a few. Especially for young professionals whose entire careers will be shaped by how they harness AI. “Even in heavily regulated sectors, the answer isn’t to stand still; it’s to adopt AI safely and responsibly, because there is also the risk of doing nothing.” Ms Carney said this generation wasn’t naive to AI’s limitations and while appreciating the productivity boost, also asked hard questions about how AI could erode the deep learning and critical thinking that helped talent grow. She said 49 percent of Gen Z felt they didn’t learn new content as deeply as they did before AI was part of their daily toolkit, yet, 92 percent were confident in their ability to critically assess and challenge AI generated outputs. Access the full report in our story ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gCC2NB6w #artificialintelligence #futurework Free access to all Newsreel stories #nopaywall Sign up to the free biweekly Newsreel newsletter ( 🔗 in comments)

AI's rapid integration into the workplace is threatening to displace young workers from entry-level jobs, raising concerns about their future. #CareerTips #ProfessionalDevelopment #CareerGrowth #CareerAhead

Instead of hiring and training entry-level workers, employers are turning to AI. The British Standards Institution (BSI) surveyed bosses from seven countries, including Australia, and found that Gen Z may be the most affected by this trend. "In a sign of the challenges facing workers belonging to gen Z – born between 1997 and 2012 – at a time when the labour market is cooling, a quarter of bosses said they believed that all or most tasks carried out by entry-level colleagues could be performed by AI," said The Guardian. Among all leaders surveyed, 39% admitted that these roles had already been reduced or cut because AI is efficient enough to handle tasks such as researching and administrative work. "BSI analysis of company annual reports found that the word “automation” appeared almost seven times more frequently than “upskilling” or “retraining”, said The Guardian. Over half of the respondents also said they feel lucky to have started their careers before AI. Do you feel the same way, or do you think AI will end up impacting people at all levels? #WorkTrend #AI #WorkStats #Upskilling #Findstaff #Intowork

I’ve been loving the new work coming out of Stanford’s Digital Economy Lab and The Budget Lab at Yale -- not because it shows dramatic change, but because it’s finally asking the right questions. The most honest conclusion we have right now about AI and labor is that we simply need more (and better) measurement and a readiness to support workers even before we have definitive answers. Going to spend the next few weeks sharing more here on my read on the work. Early shifts in AI-exposed jobs, especially at the entry level, are not proof that firms are “hiring AI instead of people.” Higher exposure predicts jobs where AI could plausibly reshape how firms think about junior work: 1/ jobs where most learning can happen off the job 2/ jobs where junior and senior work/tasks look pretty similar, with speed and polish as the main differences. Those are precisely the jobs where training data already exists -- where models can be trained if labs have access to the right data. So if those jobs are changing -- in number, scope, or quality -- it could reflect many forces. It might be delayed hiring, re-sequencing of skill development, or a rethinking of what early career work even is. It does not automatically follow that senior workers have suddenly become vastly more productive thanks to AI. This (correlation != causation) matters because it has real implications for how we design policy responses. If the symptom is that early career workers are struggling, then the right interventions should be tied to those workers -- new pathways, better training models, wage protections, smoother transitions -- rather than tied narrowly to AI -- subsidizing adoption, enforcing impact assessments, or chasing productivity metrics. If we assume the wrong mechanism, we will build the wrong response. The goal isn’t to respond to "AI." It’s to respond to what’s happening to workers. Bharat Chandar, Erik Brynjolfsson, Ruyu Chen, Martha Gimbel, Molly Kinder, Joshua Kendall, Madeline Lee

A new report by the British Standards Institution (BSI, Oct 2025) has confirmed what many already feel AI is reshaping the job market faster than most education systems or employers can adapt. According to the BSI survey of more than 850 business leaders across major economies (UK, US, Germany, Japan, China, Australia, France) 41% said AI is already enabling headcount reductions, nearly one-third of companies now explore AI tools before hiring humans, two in five leaders revealed that entry level roles have been reduced or cut as AI performs tasks like research, admin, and reporting and 43% expect this trend to accelerate within the next year. AI isn’t only replacing jobs but it’s creating new ones for those with the right skills. Article link here: https://lnkd.in/dXWzKzRb At Ensinor Oy, we believe this is the defining challenge of our time balancing innovation with inclusion. That’s why we’re investing in AI literacy, digital transformation skills, and re-skilling pathways that prepare both youth and professionals to thrive in an AI-driven economy. We think that every organisation needs a dual investment not only in AI tools, but in human capability also education providers must integrate AI and digital skills across all levels of training also Individuals must embrace lifelong learning because standing still is no longer an option. In this new era, AI won’t replace humans but humans who use AI effectively will replace those who don’t. Let’s ensure Finland’s and Europe’s workforce is AI-ready, resilient, and future proof. #Ensinor #Upskilling #SkillsDevelopment #AI #DigitalSkills

- How have young workers been affected in occupations exposed to automative A.I.? - What do firm surveys indicate about the relationship between A.I. usage and employment levels? - What evidence exists regarding the impact of A.I. adoption on overall employment for U.S. workers and young workers specifically? - To what extent is it appropriate to speculate that A.I. adoption will lead to widespread job losses? Prajakta Bhide - MRB - The Macro Research Board's US Strategist is addressing these questions in her latest piece titled "U.S. Labor Market: Is A.I. Taking A Toll?. Qualified investors can request a copy here: https://lnkd.in/dySE5RiR #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #USLaborMarket #USEmployment #USUnemployment #YoungWorkers

As these jobs go away, the path into the world of work that once represented at least one route to the American Dream suddenly has no entry point and a much lower ceiling than it used to. Job postings for entry-level and early career roles are way down year over year. The market has pulled up the ladder for people trying to get in on the lower rungs, and the prospect of climbing it is getting harrowing, too. A recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found that AI exposure is over three times higher for occupations that require a bachelor’s degree compared with those that don’t. According to a study done by the Center for AI Safety, AI agents were only able to complete about 3% of the work assigned to them that humans can do reliably. Given that, it’s little surprise that a recent report published by research and advisory firm Forrester found that more than half of all employers who cut workers and tried to replace them with AI regret the decision. The same report predicted that those companies would bring back human labor, just at lower wages and potentially by farming out roles to overseas workers. Link to article by AJ Dellinger: https://lnkd.in/eebVE3Bx

“56% of UK workers feel optimistic about AI, yet 61% also feel overwhelmed by it” You can’t move for AI chat here in Linkedinland, but I haven’t seen too much research about what people actually think and feel about its adoption. So I went digging, because I’m interested in how people are perceiving the integration. Top line: whilst most UK employees see the potential of AI to enhance their work, many are struggling to keep up emotionally and practically. You can read more here; it’s interesting stuff. https://lnkd.in/e46Ag2Cy

I think most of us have faced that early career crisis - when landing a job felt almost impossible. And now, as the workplace evolves with AI, the challenge for young people is even greater. The best way to prepare them? Focus on the fundamentals. Technology will change. Fundamentals won’t. https://lnkd.in/gusrcm8E #AI #Fundamentals