As the first generation to enter the workforce with artificial intelligence readily available, many members of Gen Z are navigating a mix of opportunity and unease.
According to new research from the Oliver Wyman Forum, 68% of Gen Z professionals are anxious about AI-driven automation, even as 58% report using AI tools at least three to four times per week. Nearly half say AI has already altered the quality or type of work expected of them.
The findings, released earlier this week, are drawn from survey data collected over the past five years from roughly 300,000 consumers and workers, including 45,000 Gen Z adults. The most recent survey was conducted last year.
The data shows that Gen Z workers are adopting AI more aggressively than older generations, despite being more concerned about its impact. Compared with baby boomers, Gen Zers are 1.7 times more likely to participate in AI training and 2.3 times more likely to report productivity gains from using AI at work.
AI pessimists versus optimists
Concerns about job displacement are not unfounded. At the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, the CEOs of Google DeepMind and Anthropic acknowledged that AI is beginning to reduce the need for some junior-level roles.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei reiterated a warning he first made last May: AI could eliminate up to half of all entry-level white-collar jobs within the next five years. Economist Marc Sumerlin echoed similar concerns in November, suggesting companies may delay hiring younger workers while waiting to capture AI-driven efficiencies. Some firms have already cited AI, directly or indirectly, as a factor in recent layoffs.
These warnings come as the unemployment rate for recent U.S. college graduates remained elevated at 5.3% in the third quarter, according to the New York Federal Reserve.
Not all business leaders share a bleak outlook. Figma CEO Dylan Field said earlier this month that AI proficiency gives young professionals a competitive edge and does not believe the technology will eliminate entry-level roles. LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman has similarly encouraged young workers to market their AI fluency as a career asset.
Moving past the grunt work
For some Gen Z employees, AI is accelerating career development rather than stalling it.
Lindsay Grippo, 28, an editor at New York–based digital marketing agency Codeword, says AI helps her focus on higher-level strategic thinking when drafting newsletters, blog posts, and other content. She treats AI-generated output as if it came from a junior colleague.
“I’m evaluating how well it meets a project’s goals, much like my manager reviews my work,” she said. “It’s training me to think like a more senior creative.”
Kyle Monson, a founding partner at Codeword, said the firm has not altered its hiring plans because of AI and noted that younger employees tend to be the most adept users. As a Gen Xer, Monson said he envies that advantage.
When he began his career, advancement required years of manual tasks such as data entry and note-taking. Today, AI can handle much of that work, allowing junior employees to move more quickly into higher-value assignments that require judgment and decision-making.
“That’s when your career really starts to take off,” Monson said.