We have the most powerful technology in history, and we’re using it to stop hiring young people

We possess the most potent technology ever created by humanity, yet it seems that much of it is being utilized by corporations to eliminate employment opportunities and reduce human capital. From September, U.S. businesses announced the termination of 573,195 jobs, with artificial intelligence (AI) cited as the primary reason in 120,136 of these layoffs, a staggering 54% increase compared to the same period in the previous year. Major tech companies alone disclosed 165,925 job cuts, up by 54% from the same period last year.

Despite a general decline in total job cuts by 39% in the first nine months of 2025, AI was only mentioned in roughly 9% of September's layoffs. However, the most significant impact is observed in hiring practices. According to Stanford economists Erik Brynjolfsson, Bharat Chandar, and Ruyu Chen, who analyzed ADP payroll data, employment among 22- to 25-year-olds in occupations exposed to AI has dropped by 19% as of June, compared to a 15% gap a year earlier.

The report suggests that this decline is primarily due to reduced hiring of young workers rather than increased layoffs.

Companies are not laying off junior employees but are simply not hiring them, citing efficiency as the reason. While the economy appears robust on paper, with a 3.4% annual growth rate in Q3 real GDP, the reality for ordinary citizens is far from ideal. Consumer prices rose by 3.7% in the year through September, and gasoline prices increased by 34%.

This year has been anything but a "soft landing" for the common citizen, with the World Bank describing the recent oil market shock as the largest in history following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in March.

Moreover, workers are now responsible for an average annual expense of $7,471 for family health coverage, a 9% increase from 2025. Meanwhile, wages have grown by only 3.7%. In essence, the average worker has experienced a pay cut. The looming crises of electricity and water supply further exacerbate the situation. AI buildouts are competing with households for the same electricity, with data centers accounting for 63% of the price increase in the PJM grid operator region, leading to an estimated $9.3 billion in additional costs.

The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that a water main break occurs every two minutes in the U.S., and about 6 billion gallons of treated water are lost daily. AI could play a crucial role in addressing these issues by predicting load and balancing the grid, locating water leaks, forecasting droughts, and inspecting bridges. For instance, Northumbrian Water in the UK reported that a six-month trial using AI-powered acoustic sensors to detect hidden leaks saved nearly 6.4 million liters of water daily.

To secure the future, four crucial steps must be taken. First, energy resilience should be treated as a national security issue. Data centers must be legally obligated to contribute towards grid upgrades and capacity expansion. In New Jersey, the Data Center Fair Share Act, signed in July 2026, mandates that large data centers cover their own infrastructure costs, secure financial guarantees covering at least 85% of requested load for ten years, and allow them to offset capacity obligations by paying for demand reductions elsewhere.

This could save ratepayers over $1 billion annually. Other states are following suit by implementing similar measures.