How Gen Z is thinking about AI at work
Gen Z workers are approaching generative AI with a mix of caution and optimism.
Why it matters: Today's young workers are starting their careers during a massive technological revolution.
The big picture: Employers and HR pros say they're willing to take chances on otherwise less qualified candidates if they have AI experience, Christine Cruzvergara, chief education strategy officer at entry-level job platform Handshake, tells Axios.
Gen Z "is likely to be the generation that is going to help teach the rest of the workforce GenAI," Cruzvergara adds. "They're more comfortable with it, they don't mind experimenting with it."
The share of job descriptions on Handshake mentioning generative AI more than tripled from 2023 to 2024 — but still represented fewer than 1% of listings in April 2024.
Case in point: Avalon Fenster, 23, taught herself how to use AI in her personal and professional life — then wound up showing her older coworkers the lay of the land during internships.
Fenster now runs a platform called Internship Girl, which uses AI to help provide career resources to about 350,000 young women from more than 100 countries.
She promotes AI to level the professional playing field, especially for first-generation college students or non-native English speakers.
Threat level: Fenster, now a law student, is concerned about AI's impact on critical thinking skills, and wants companies and schools to provide AI literacy training.
"Even as a young person who is native to these tools, even as someone who advocates for them, I do have concerns over the way that it impacts our ability to think independently, formulate ideas, communicate ideas," she says.
AI's environmental toll is a turnoff for other young people.
"I personally took a stand to not use AI because of the climate impact," says Katya Danziger, a 25-year-old computer science student and research assistant at Parsons, who stopped using AI chatbots about six months ago.
Each time you ask ChatGPT a question Axios' Scott Rosenberg reports, you're using much more energy than you would for a Google query.
Career impact is also a Gen Z concern.
In a recent Pew survey, 35% of U.S. workers between 18 and 29 said they think AI will lead to fewer job opportunities.
Yes, but:"Sometimes having a little bit of nervousness around the fact that it might impact your career is not a bad thing," Cruzvergara says.
"It keeps you on your toes a little bit, and makes it so that you're ready and nimble."
Go deeper: AI jobs on the rise, new LinkedIn report finds
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