In October, I moderated a panel with Cathy Huang, Mike Swift, Toby Howell, and Joseph Alalou to unpack a question dominating headlines, dinner-table conversations, and graduation ceremonies alike: Is AI destroying entry-level jobs—or is something more complicated happening beneath the surface?
Public anxiety is understandable. Prominent tech leaders have warned that generative AI could eliminate large swaths of white-collar work, and many recent graduates report struggling to land roles that once felt like reliable stepping stones into professional careers. At the same time, the data tells a more nuanced—and in many ways more sobering—story.