除了薪资与就业机会缩水，许多毕业生被迫流向零售和餐饮等低薪入门职位。尽管整体劳动市场失业率相对温和，但纽约联邦准备银行的数据表明，应届毕业生的失业率高达5.7%，几乎是所有大学毕业生整体失业率（2.9%）的两倍，显示年轻求职者踏入就业市场的挑战日益严峻，而AI技术在此波青年劳动力排挤效应中扮演了显著角色。
过去年轻世代大举涌入资讯科技领域，但如今AI发展正逆转这项趋势，研究作者警告这可能对投注高额人力资本的新鲜人带来长远的职涯负面后果。与此同时，AI带来的冲击也引发产业反思，虽然包括Anthropic与OpenAI等企业高层曾呼吁放缓尖端模型的开发速度，但政界对国际竞争的考量使得发展节奏的调整更加复杂。
A new study by US Census Bureau economists indicates that since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, graduates from college majors most exposed to artificial intelligence have suffered a severe decline in initial employment and earnings. The top decile of most-affected majors—dominated by computer science, information systems, and software-related fields—saw initial employment probability fall by 5 percentage points and starting earnings drop by 13%, a magnitude comparable to graduating into a major economic recession.
Beyond shrinking opportunities, many graduates have been forced to accept entry-level positions in lower-paying sectors such as retail and food service. Even though the broader labor market shows a modest national unemployment rate, Federal Reserve Bank of New York data reveals that joblessness among recent college graduates reached 5.7%, nearly double the 2.9% rate for college graduates as a whole, highlighting the severe headwinds young workers face as AI displaces entry-level roles.
While young talent previously flocked into computer-related fields, the rise of generative AI is reversing those gains, raising concerns among researchers about the long-term career scarring for graduates who invested heavily in skills vulnerable to automation. Meanwhile, amid escalating safety concerns, leading AI executives have debated slowing advanced model development, though political pressures and global technological competition continue to complicate efforts to manage the transition.