Roving Teen Reporter: Gen Z to Compete with AI for Jobs

With constant headlines and articles streaming into society’s current news section, AI is continuously on the rise. As a society, we have all understandably accepted that AI is here to stay. Now, especially for Generation Z, a group of individuals who are slowly immersing themselves into the workforce, they are still grappling with the weight AI will bring into their future careers and daily lives. 

Never seen before, AI has begun to play a major role for many young individuals who are beginning to choose career paths.

Most prominently, for those seeking a career in journalism or writing, AI can feel like a detrimental opponent. Only with a few keywords and a click of a button, software like ChatGPT or Gemini can generate texts that humans would spend hours composing.

AI can “directly answer [any] question and teach society many things,” Gaby Shanner, a junior at Torrey Pines High School, said. “It truly is a powerful tool when used correctly.”

Yet, Zaysia Long-Boyd, a sophomore at Cathedral Catholic High School, focuses on the fact that it is “artificial” for a reason.

“It’s literally called artificial intelligence,” Long-Boyd said. “It’s not real.”

Being motivated to pursue a career as a lawyer, Long-Boyd doesn’t believe that “AI can necessarily [take over her] field because it requires an actual human touch [to] litigate in court and prove something with emotion.”

Although society has seen real-life examples of  AI being incorporated into various fields, the field of law seems to be one of those areas where AI can’t replicate its capabilities.

Although AI offers many utilities that could help make our society more efficient, many fear that since it improves so rapidly, it will negatively, “[affect] our environment because of how much water is used to cool down the data centers,” Shanner said. “I would also fear many jobs are now being put at risk.”

However, it is noted that no one will be able to predict how AI will advance in the coming years. Seeing clear patterns of its effectiveness today, time will only tell where it will go.

Long-Boyd reassures many young individuals, proving that we should not be measured beside AI.

“People might start thinking that success means knowing everything, like AI does, generating things fast, and always having an answer,” Long-Boyd said. “In my opinion, that’s not success.”