The Anxiety of American Graduates, and the Changing Role of Humans in the AI Era
In the AI Era, Even New Hires Must Think Like Middle Managers
— The Anxiety of American Graduates, and the Changing Role of Humans in the AI Era —
The Anxiety That Emerged at an American Graduation Ceremony
Recently, during an AI-related commencement speech by former Eric Schmidt at a university graduation ceremony in the United States, some graduates responded with boos and visible discomfort.
Honestly, watching that scene did not leave me feeling entirely comfortable.
That does not mean I think the graduates were wrong.
In fact, I believe their reaction is completely understandable.
Many college graduates today are experiencing very real fears:
- Fear that AI will replace entry-level jobs first
- Fear that finding a first job after graduation will become increasingly difficult
- Fear that the knowledge they spent years learning may quickly lose value
And the reality is that the market is already changing very rapidly.
Ironically, Students Are Already Using AI Themselves
What is interesting is that today’s students are already actively using AI in their daily academic lives.
Students are already using AI for:
- Organizing thesis ideas
- Analyzing market trends
- Researching assignments
- Coding assistance
- Improving English writing
- Preparing presentation materials
In other words,
students themselves are already living inside the AI era.
That is why, while watching the graduation ceremony reaction, I began thinking:
Perhaps the students were not simply booing AI itself.
Perhaps they were expressing something deeper:
“The market structure we spent years preparing for is changing too quickly.”
And perhaps, at the same time, they were asking the symbolic figure behind the AI revolution:
“What happens to our future now?”
Humanity Has Experienced Similar Transformations Before
When we look back at history, humanity has already experienced similar transformations multiple times.
Humanity first experienced the Agricultural Revolution, which built farming-centered societies.
Later, the Industrial Revolution transformed farmers into factory workers and reshaped the structure of human labor itself.
Once steam engines and factory systems emerged, the structure of society changed dramatically.
Farmers moved into cities, and factory workers became the new workforce.
At that time, many people were surely afraid as well.
“Can we no longer survive through farming alone?”
“Will everything we learned become obsolete?”
The AI Revolution may represent a similar historical shift.
However, there is one critical difference this time.
This transformation is not only affecting physical labor.
AI is now beginning to enter areas involving:
- human thinking,
- analysis,
- judgment,
- and strategic decision-making.
The Advertising Industry Is Already Changing Around AI
This shift is especially visible in the advertising and marketing industries.
In the past, entry-level employees typically grew through tasks such as:
- Market research
- Competitor analysis
- Writing advertising copy drafts
- Organizing consumer data
- Creating presentation materials
But today, AI can perform many of these tasks at remarkable speed.
Modern AI systems can already:
- Generate advertising copy
- Analyze consumer reactions
- Recommend search keywords
- Summarize social media trends
- Create marketing strategy drafts
Tasks that once took junior employees several days can now be completed by AI within minutes.
Google’s Advertising Model Has Already Changed the Global Market
The advertising-based platform ecosystem created by Google has already transformed business strategies around the world.
Today’s market increasingly revolves around:
- Search advertising
- YouTube advertising
- Display advertising
- Social media content marketing
- Algorithm-based recommendation systems
Countless startups and platform companies are now building their growth strategies on models heavily influenced by Google’s advertising revenue structure.
In other words, the market is shifting away from simple product sales toward a structure centered on:
“Data + Advertising + Platforms + Consumer Response Analysis”
And AI is accelerating this transformation even further.
Does This Mean Entry-Level Employees Will No Longer Be Needed?
Many people are beginning to ask:
“If AI can do most junior-level tasks, why would companies still need entry-level employees?”
But I actually believe the opposite may happen.
As AI takes over repetitive execution-based work,
the role of human entry-level employees may become even more advanced.
Because in the real market,
the most important thing is not simply data itself.
Consumers Move Through Emotion, Not Numbers
In advertising, the most important factor is not just click-through rates or view counts.
Real consumers are influenced by:
- Emotion
- Trust
- Empathy
- Atmosphere
- Brand image
- Human stories
AI can analyze data.
But it still struggles to fully understand subtle human emotional context, such as:
- Why consumers suddenly feel anxious about a brand
- Why people trust certain companies
- Why identical advertisements create different emotional reactions
- Why storytelling still matters deeply to human beings
This remains one of the most difficult areas for AI.
Entry-Level Employees Are Now Being Asked to Think Like Middle Managers
In the past, the core role of a junior employee was often simple:
- Organize materials
- Create reports
- Accurately execute assigned tasks
But now companies are beginning to demand something very different.
For example:
- Verifying AI-generated results
- Understanding hidden consumer reactions
- Interpreting market sentiment
- Connecting information to strategic direction
In other words,
responsibilities that once belonged primarily to assistant managers or middle managers are now gradually moving downward toward entry-level employees.
Perhaps we are entering an era of:
“The Middle-Managerization of Entry-Level Employees”
The Generation That Grew Up With AI May One Day Save Companies
Interestingly, the current generation of entry-level workers — the first generation to fully experience AI directly — may eventually become the strongest middle managers during future AI market disruptions.
Because they have:
- Actually used AI tools themselves
- Experienced the differences between humans and AI firsthand
- Felt the speed of market transformation directly
- Observed changes in consumer behavior in real time
If future market problems emerge, such as:
- AI market bubbles
- Excessive automation
- Consumer fatigue
- Declining advertising efficiency
- Platform market instability
then the people who can:
- Understand human emotions
- Verify AI-generated results
- Maintain strategic balance
- Adjust direction during uncertainty
may become the individuals who save companies.
In that sense,
today’s entry-level employees may not simply be junior workers.
They may be evolving into:
“Future Strategic Middle-Manager Candidates for the AI Era”
So How Should Humans Grow in the AI Era?
That is why I do not want to criticize the anxiety or reactions of today’s graduates.
Their concerns are understandable.
But one thing is already clear:
The AI revolution has already begun.
And now the important question is no longer:
“Can we stop AI?”
But rather:
“How should humans continue evolving inside the AI era?”
Perhaps the strongest people in the future will not be:
- Those who fear AI,
- Nor those who blindly worship AI,
but rather those who can:
Use AI while still understanding human emotion, context, strategy, and meaning.
And perhaps that is exactly where true human competitiveness begins again.
댓글
댓글 쓰기