AI could leave many college grads unemployed, says ServiceNow CEO

Bill McDermott, the chief executive of ServiceNow, an American cloud computing firm, told reporters recently that the advancement of artificial intelligence could push the unemployment level of recent college graduates into the almost 40%.

McDermott told CNBC that “so much of the work is going to be done by agents,” highlighting the challenge that college graduates will likely face. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York put the unemployment rate of recent college graduates, at the end of last year, at 5.7%, while underemployment for the same group reached 42.5%.

Layoffs at large companies, particularly in Big Tech, continue. The fintech firm Block, recently announced it would lay off about 4,000 employees, roughly half of its workforce.

In universities themselves, meanwhile, AI is being adopted and taught. New programs sprout up weekly at major institutions and Ivy League schools around the country. Most recently, the University of North Texas announced it would offer an AI major next fall. Michael McPherson, provost and vice president for academic affairs, said the new program was in response to “a ridiculously rapidly evolving world.”