If A.I. Takes the Jobs of Young People, How Will They React?

A looming question follows all this discussion of artificial intelligence, one that haunts many voters, particularly young ones. Will AI make things worse for them, especially in securing employment? According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the unemployment rate for recent college graduates aged twenty-two to twenty-seven is 5.7 percent.

This is higher than the overall unemployment rate, a trend that has emerged in the past few years. Prior to 2022, young college graduates consistently enjoyed lower unemployment rates than their peers.

This gap between young college graduates and the general population has been widening, albeit slowly. Some experts speculate that white-collar industries, particularly those exposed to AI, might be avoiding filling entry-level positions to assess whether robots can replace human workers, such as paralegals, junior analysts, or copywriters. However, this phenomenon began before ChatGPT's introduction, as the recent-college-graduate unemployment rate remained relatively constant since 2012 while others' rates improved.

The pandemic's remote work trend might have contributed to this issue, giving companies reason to reduce workforce sizes. Yet, it is uncertain whether AI is already replacing young graduates. Nonetheless, many industries could potentially replace their workforce with AI, especially in software engineering, where AI tools like Claude and Gemini streamline tasks.

Research from Stanford Digital Economy Lab revealed that the employment of 22-25 year-old software developers declined by 20% between 2022 and 2025. Occupations with more AI exposure experienced a more significant decline than those with less exposure. If these findings are accurate, it raises concerns about the potential impact on other industries, including management consulting, payroll management, insurance, architecture, and media.

Young people are beginning to resist this reality, with commencement speakers who mention AI or work for AI companies being met with boos, and polls showing students and recent graduates are more skeptical of AI compared to the general public. A Gallup survey found that "anger" towards AI increased among Gen Z, while "excitement" decreased.

These sentiments have influenced political outcomes in the Wisconsin governor's race, where Francesca Hong, the presumptive Democratic nominee, gained support from her opposition to data centers and the elimination of automatic tax exemptions for AI data centers in the state. Young voters, in particular, may oppose candidates perceived to be influenced by big tech.

While young people are not economically destitute, and not all jobs have been replaced by AI, the automation of certain tasks presents another reason for young people to feel hopeless about the future and question if an American renewal is attainable. Currently, this discontent has led to a soft populism, as candidates propose universal healthcare and debt cancellation.

However, it has not yet escalated into the type of rhetoric associated with past populist movements. As election day approaches, some candidates may tone down their anti-billionaire rhetoric to focus on affordability or international issues like Gaza and Israel.