Should junior-level workers use artificial intelligence on the job? Their coworkers are split on the matter, according to the CNBC and SurveyMonkey Quarterly AI and Jobs Survey published Thursday.
Roughly 42% of all workers said junior-level staff should be allowed to use AI at work with clear guidelines and limitations, while 35% said the technology should be prohibited for junior-level workers, according to the survey, which polled 1,686 students and workers across the U.S. from July 22 to 27. Another 14% said junior-level workers should be able to use AI only with supervision and approval, and 9% said they should be able to use it freely without any restrictions.
The issue is thorny: Many employers are pushing their workers to build AI skills in the hopes they'll be more productive, but there are unique considerations for those on the lower rungs of the career ladder.
Entry-level jobs are typically considered more likely to be disrupted or replaced by AI. Nearly one-third of employers say AI has raised the experience requirements for their entry-level roles, according to a July report from ZipRecruiter. Entry-level job seekers also face steeper competition for fewer roles.
Many members of Gen Z, who are between 14 and 29 years old, "are lukewarm on what [AI] means for the workplace," says Shawn VanDerziel, president and CEO of the National Association of Colleges and Employers. In CNBC's survey, 42% of Gen Z respondents said entry-level workers should be prohibited from using AI at work, a higher proportion than any other generation polled.
Early career workers may also feel whiplash from being prohibited from using AI in college to suddenly being strongly encouraged to use it at work, VanDerziel says: Some of them "are afraid to get caught 'cheating' because of what they've been told in school."
AI can be useful for some entry-level work, he says, including delegating routine tasks, proofreading, analyzing large data sets, and answering common workplace questions to fill skill or resource gaps as young workers start out.
But using AI on some other types of tasks could set younger workers back, VanDerziel cautions, like automating tasks without learning how to do them yourself first or outsourcing decision-making to AI.
If early career staff aren't doing the work themselves, he says, "they're not honing those workplace skills that can be beneficial, and that serve as building blocks, for other work." Though AI may offer "a shortcut" that's convenient now, repeatedly relying on it could keep these workers from developing expertise on a subject, he adds.
This concern that AI could stunt young workers' professional development may be one reason they and their colleagues support guardrails or restrictions around who can use the technology at work. Employees might also worry about younger workers submitting "AI workslop" or outputs containing false or misleading information, resulting in more work for colleagues left to fix these mistakes.
Another potential fear: With 37% of workers citing privacy as a reason they've avoided using AI, according to a CNBC survey published in May, they might be concerned their most inexperienced coworkers could accidentally expose proprietary or sensitive information.
AI literacy may appeal to many employers, but it's not everything. Critical thinking, communication, and collaboration still regularly top NACE's lists of skills employers look for in entry-level workers, VanDerziel says, so young employees should focus on developing those skills as well.
"Companies are looking at these new grads to be their future leaders, and they want a pipeline for the future," he says. "Those skills still endure even in the age of AI," he says, and they "are even more important today."
