Wharton Professor Warns of AI’s Growing Impact on Entry-Level Jobs, Calls for Clearer Organizational Vision

AI is transforming the American workplace at a rapid pace, prompting both increased adoption and rising concern among workers. According to recent surveys, nearly half of U.S. employers plan to reduce headcount due to AI, while a growing share of employees now use it regularly at work.

Amidst this shift, Ethan Mollick, associate professor at the Wharton School and co-director of its Generative AI Labs, is cautioning that while AI isn’t replacing humans just yet, its long-term implications—especially for entry-level roles—require urgent attention.

A recent Gallup poll found that 40% of U.S. workers now use AI at work at least a few times a year, nearly double the figure from last year. The share of workers using AI several times a week also jumped from 11% to 19%. Despite these increases, a Pew Research Center survey shows that more than half of American workers are worried about AI’s effect on employment. Those fears are supported by a January report from the World Economic Forum, which revealed that 48% of U.S. employers expect to reduce staff due to AI adoption.

Newspaper with job openings | Source: Pexels

Mollick sees nuance in the outlook. “The idea that you could just sub in AI for people seems naive to me,” he said. “Still, as AI keeps improving, there may be effects.” Although Mollick emphasizes that AI tools are not yet capable of fully replacing human workers, he notes that leading AI labs are actively pursuing the creation of autonomous systems that exceed human intelligence within the next three years. “They are expecting and aiming for mass unemployment,” he said. “That is what they keep telling us to prepare for.”

Yet, the path forward is far from certain. “We don’t know they can achieve it… A lot of it is also the choice of organizational leaders who get to decide how these systems are actually used,” Mollick added, highlighting the slower pace of institutional change compared to technological advancement.

When it comes to preparing for the future workforce, Mollick argues that the skills needed today have shifted. “If you asked about AI skills a year ago, I would have said prompting skills. That doesn’t matter as much anymore,” he explained. Instead, he stresses the importance of judgment, domain knowledge, and experience—qualities that AI cannot replicate.

Mollick warns of a looming crisis in how workers gain expertise. “Expertise is gained by apprenticeship, which means doing some AI-level work over and over again… Why would anyone ever do that again? That becomes a real challenge,” he said, calling for education and training to fill the gap.

Worried woman in front of a laptop | Source: Pexels

Entry-level jobs, in particular, are vulnerable. “I think that’s a huge concern,” Mollick noted. He emphasized the need for companies to rethink entry-level roles not just as tasks to be completed, but as developmental opportunities to build future leadership. “That is very different than how they viewed the work before,” he said.

Despite the pace of AI innovation, Mollick criticizes the lack of clear guidance from leadership. “These tools are not really built as productivity tools. They’re built as chatbots,” he said. “It is unfair to ask employees to figure it out.” He urges leaders and educators alike to take an active role in shaping AI integration. “It can’t just be, ‘everyone figure it out and magic will happen,’” he concluded.