Generation AI

Dear Class of 2025: You're Competing with AI for Your First Job

Episode Summary

In this eye-opening episode of Generation AI, hosts Ardis Kadiu and JC Bonilla tackle the harsh reality facing the Class of 2025 - the first graduating class in human history competing directly with AI for entry-level jobs. With college graduate unemployment hitting 6% (exceeding the national average for the first time in 45 years), they explore how AI is fundamentally reshaping the job market. The hosts analyze reports from CBS News and SignalFire, discuss Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's stark prediction of 20% unemployment, and offer practical advice for new grads navigating this unprecedented shift. This episode is essential listening for students, parents, educators, and anyone concerned about how AI is transforming the path from education to employment.

Episode Notes

The First Generation Competing with AI (00:00:00)

Setting up the paradox: greatest productivity explosion yet most uncertain future for graduates
Every generation gets a defining technology - this one gets AI
4 million Americans graduating into the tightest labor market competing with AI

Unprecedented Graduate Unemployment Crisis (00:05:52)

College graduate unemployment hits 6% vs 4.2% national average
First time in 45 years graduates face higher unemployment than general population
Average student loan debt of $37,000 creating impossible catch-22
Entry-level positions requiring 3-5 years experience

Tech Industry Restructuring and Entry-Level Freeze (00:10:20)

Microsoft, Google, Meta, Amazon freezing entry-level programming positions
Tech companies posting record profits while eliminating junior roles
Tech as historic engine of economic mobility now stalling
Parents questioning if STEM degrees still matter

Dario Amodei's 20% Unemployment Warning (00:19:51)

Anthropic CEO predicts unemployment rivaling Great Depression
80% of code to be written by AI within two years
Discussion of hyperbole vs reality in AI predictions
GDP growth implications and historical context

All In Podcast Insights: New Grads as "Autocomplete of the Past" (00:25:00)

Chamath's analogy: new grads were human autocomplete, AI does it better
Young + AI-native = hireable vs old + resistant = obsolete
Solution: start companies, join startups, or get left behind
Every revolution creates more than it destroys

Universities at a Crossroads (00:28:48)

Education as expensive trap vs great equalizer debate
Curriculum development pressure and credential inflation
Universities' slow response but emphasis on critical thinking
Alternative paths (bootcamps, certificates) under pressure

Practical Advice for New Graduates (00:34:22)

Double down on becoming AI-native - use every tool, automate everything
Skip Fortune 500s - target Series A startups or start your own
Embrace controlled chaos - job security is dead, adaptability is key
Find human + AI roles, not human vs AI positions
Interview question tip: ask how they use AI personally

The Great Experiment with No Control Group (00:39:06)

Running an unprecedented experiment on an entire generation
Class of 2025: lost generation or first AI generation?
Old path closing for students, revolution or irrelevance for educators
Everyone must be an active participant, not passive observer
Industrial revolution parallels and being part of history