The Raging Fire of AI in the Job Market

Prometheus: the god who brought Anthropos technology through fire 

Back when the world was dark and the cold was suffocating, a legendary figure brought fire down from the gods, ensuring the comfort and continued survival of the human species. A titan of great empathy towards mortals, Prometheus paid the ultimate sacrifice for his selflessness. Those familiar with the myth may aptly assume that the aforementioned sacrifice for bringing fire was the eternal torture he faced as punishment. While the physical toll of a liver-eating eagle is certainly overwhelming, one must imagine Prometheus as equally tormented by the damage he caused to humanity through his elemental gift. Fire, despite being a fundamental aid in survival, can easily become a ravaging force of violence when left unchecked. Earlier this year, Prometheus’s gift tore through Los Angeles due to worsening climate change, taking 440 lives and destroying around 16,000 homes. This mass wildfire is not an isolated incident, but is one of 47,183 other wildfires that happened in 2025 alone. Ultimately, while Prometheus’s best intentions were at play, fire takes as much as it gives.

It is easy to akin the figure of a “modern Prometheus” to the CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman. One of the 11 founders of OpenAI, alongside notable names like Elon Musk and Greg Brockman, Altman is a powerhouse in the generative artificial intelligence (AI) field. According to the OpenAI website, Altman’s organization intends to “advance digital intelligence in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole.” Certainly, Prometheus would find this mission admirable as his intentions were fundamentally the same. AI, much like fire, can be beneficial if used properly; however, it can cause a substantial amount of harm if left unchecked. Unfortunately, it is hard to ignore the impact of AI’s exponential rise on the average college student, especially those who are now entering the workforce. According to a Stanford study, the most AI-exposed occupations have experienced a 13% decline in employment of younger workers (ages 22-25) when compared to occupations in less exposed fields. 

While this article mostly focuses on the more negative effects of generative AI, it is important to acknowledge that artificial intelligence has the capacity to aid humanity greatly. One of AI’s greatest contributions to society is its ability to identify cancerous tumors before they become malignant. CHIEF (Clinical Histopathology Imaging Evaluation Foundation) is able to recognize 19 different types of cancer, boasting an outstanding 94% detection success rate on average. Kun-Hsing Yu, a chief hand in the creation of CHIEF, harnesses the fire created by Altman by using ChatGPT, a product of OpenAI, as CHIEF’s foundation. Because CHIEF is an AI specially trained on cancer detection, it outperforms other AI models by 36%. 

Beyond cancer, AI is also able to efficiently identify rare diseases that doctors might overlook. The presence of artificial intelligence that stems from OpenAI’s models has the potential to save countless lives when applied to medical technologies. While AIs like CHIEF have a prominent place in medical fields, they’re not rendering doctors useless; AI rather serves as a tool to make doctors more efficient at their jobs. In a utopia, this is the purpose of AI: to aid, rather than replace. Be that as it may, we do not live in a utopian society, and the thought of being replaced by AI before one can even enter the workforce is a fear that rests in college students. 

One such field that has been greatly affected by the rise of AI is computer science;  entry-level programmers hired to write code line by line are rendered irrelevant by AI tools that can write large amounts of the same code in a fraction of the time. Stanford lists software engineering as one of the AI-exposed professions with low entry-level employment, alongside customer service representatives and accountants. No wonder software engineers are so threatened when companies like Salesforce refuse to hire any new software engineers because AI has improved engineering productivity by 30%. Whereas these jobs that require little experience are jeopardized by the adoption of generative AI, positions that require more experience and skill have consistent employment rates because their skills are harder for AI to replicate. 

According to Dr. Daniel Plante, a Stetson professor of computer science, the replacement of low-level jobs with AI “will lead to a knowledge vacuum when those skilled employees move on or retire.” Companies need to realize that a job force founded solely on AI will collapse on itself when faced with more complex tasks, which is why low-level workers are necessary for a company to thrive. Plante claims that some companies have come to realize this “knowledge vacuum” is inevitable given their current trajectory. Until that inevitability is fully realized, it is important that graduates embrace this change rather than compete with it, however difficult that may be.

The recent introduction of generative AI in the workplace has inspired a resounding sentiment that AI will not replace you, but rather, an AI ‘expert’ will. This idea presents a false choice between the two ideas when, in reality, both are true.  Plante finds truth in the latter half of this claim, saying that “there has been an increase in demand for graduates who can use AI effectively to complete not only simple tasks but increasingly complex ones as well as combine it with human skills like problem-solving, creativity, and collaboration”. As previously stated with Salesforce, AI has and will continue to replace jobs that require a less extensive skillset. However, the ability to use AI as an augmentation will greatly aid one’s chances in finding a job post-graduation. Per the Stanford study that has become the feet upon which this article stands, occupations that treat AI as a supplement rather than a replacement have actually experienced growth in employment rates recently. 

Generation Z has grown alongside AI, and now that the floodgates have opened, it is impossible to ignore the massive impact that AI not only has but will continue to have. Therefore, the only solution to thrive in this current environment is to control AI, not let AI control you. Those who can harness fire are less likely to be burnt by it.