For years, tech CEOs have promised that AI will take on the menial, repetitive tasks that have long been a part of office life. Typically, those tasks are assigned to younger, less experienced workers—and poll after poll shows Gen Z is increasingly concerned about what AI will mean for their job prospects. Clara Shih says those fears are, at least partly, justified. As the former head of Meta's Business AI Group, and the CEO of Salesforce AI before that, Shih knows firsthand how companies are deploying AI and where it's affecting hiring. Now, as the founder of the New Work Foundation, Shih is building tools to help young workers navigate this complex hiring maze.
In conversation with Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, Shih details the skills students should focus on to prepare for the AI era, how employees can leverage the technology, and why more people—of all ages—might soon find themselves working for an algorithm.
Produced independently of The Atlantic’s editorial staff.
(0:00) Introduction
(02:35) What New Work Foundation is doing for Gen Z job seekers
(04:00) Is your major cooked? Testing the "Field Report" tool
(06:50) What AI exposure scores don’t capture
(10:20) How colleges should prepare students for the AI era
(17:30) Why beginners shouldn't use AI to learn something new
(22:00) Is college still worth it?
(23:42) Why applying for a job is harder than it used to be
(29:52) AI will make big companies more efficient—and less fun
(33:12) How the bitter lesson could apply to entire organizations
(36:12) The three buckets all white-collar work might soon fall into
(42:51) Are companies actually laying people off because of AI?
(47:54) What Clara would do if she had an unlimited budget to invest in AI
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