Should AI worry young professionals?

GRADUATION is a moment of arrival - a first exciting step into adulthood, independence and the beginning of a career.

- NKOSINATHI MAHLANGU

But for many young South Africans, once the cap is tossed and the gown folded away, the celebration is quickly shadowed by reality.

Almost half (46.1%) of all youth aged 15 to 34 are unemployed (Q1: 2025), and even a hard-earned degree no longer guarantees entry into the workforce. Now artificial intelligence (AI) is adding another layer of doubt: will the careers young people have studied or trained for still be waiting, or will technology move faster than their opportunities?

Technology threat

That anxiety is not unfounded. Across industries, AI systems are beginning to assume tasks once done by entry-level professionals. Algorithms can now scan contracts, generate reports, comb through datasets and even write computer code precisely the kinds of duties that often formed the training ground for young graduates. With those steppingstone tasks increasingly being automated, the pathway into work is narrowing just as more young people arrive at its entrance.