If getting AI to replace human labor has become the subject of much debate.
It’s still hard to say for certain if AI begins to take over previously human-made roles, but a recent survey by the World Economic Forum found that 40% of employers reduce staff that AI can automate tasks.
Researchers at Signalfire, a data-driven VC company that tracks employment movements for over 600 million employees and 80 million companies on LinkedIn, believe that there could be the first indication of AI’s impact on employment.
Analyzing employment trends, SignalFire noticed that tech companies hired more recent university graduates than 2023 or 2024. Meanwhile, high-tech companies, particularly the top 15 major tech companies, have stepped up the hiring of experienced professionals.
Specifically, SignalFire has found that large tech companies will reduce employment for new graduates by 25% in 2024 compared to 2023. Meanwhile, the recruitment of graduates at startups fell by 11% compared to the previous year. SignalFire doesn’t exactly reveal the number of graduates recruited according to the data, but the spokesman said it was thousands.
The adoption of new AI tools may not fully explain DIP in recent graduate recruitment, but Signalfire’s research director Asher Bantock says there is “convincing evidence” that AI is a key factor.
Entry-level jobs are often susceptible to automation as they involve routine, low-risk tasks that are handled properly by the generated AI.
The new coding, debugging, financial research and software installation capabilities in AI could mean that companies need fewer people to do that kind of work. The AI’s ability to handle certain entry-level tasks means that some new graduates’ jobs can quickly become obsolete.
Gabe Stengel, founder of AI Financial Analyst startup Rogo, began his career at Lazard Investment Bank, helping large pharmaceutical companies buy biotech startups. Rogo’s tools “can do almost everything we did in the analysis of those companies,” Stengel said last week on stage at the Newcomer’s Financial Technology Summit. “We can put together the materials, work hard on the company and look into their finances.”
While most large investment banks have not explicitly reduced analyst employment because of AI, executives at companies like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley previously thought to hire junior staff at up to two-thirds.
The threat of AI to skilled work is real, but the need for tech companies for experienced professionals is still rising. According to a report by SignalFire, large tech companies have increased employment of professionals with 2 to 5 years of experience by 27%, while startups have hired over 14% of individuals in the same seniority range.
A frustrating paradox appears in recent alumni. They cannot be hired without experience, but they cannot gain experience without being hired. This dilemma is nothing new, but Signalfire people and talent partner Heather Doshay says that AI has been exacerbated considerably.
Dashay’s advice for new graduates: Master AI tools. “If it’s best to use it, AI won’t take on your job,” she said.
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