Gen Z’s Career Crisis: How AI Is Stealing Entry-Level Jobs
Published on October 9, 2025 · Duration 00:45:03
Welcome back to another mind-bending episode of Bootstrapped for Cash with your hosts, Giorgio Azzinnaro and Iván Peña! After last week’s explosive response, we’re diving headfirst into a topic that’s got everyone from recent grads to seasoned CEOs sweating: Gen Z’s Career Crisis: How AI Is Stealing Entry-Level Jobs.
If you thought automation was a problem for future you, think again! It’s already here, and it’s coming for your first job. internships, entry-level roles – AI is setting up roadblocks before Gen Z even gets a foot in the door.
The Robot Apocalypse is Nigh (for Your Resume)
Goodwill Industries International CEO, Steven Preston, isn’t sugar-coating it: he’s bracing for an “influx of jobless Gen Zers” as AI and automation threaten countless entry-level positions, warning that a youth unemployment crisis is already underway. Ouch! The German research firm Deutsche Bank confirms this widespread concern, noting that about one in five people between 18 and 54 years old are worried about losing their jobs to AI. Turns out, the closer you are to actually needing an entry-level job, the more you’re feeling the heat!
And it’s not just talk. Companies are already making moves. Lufthansa, for example, plans to cut 4,000 administrative jobs by 2030, citing a push towards digitisation and AI automation. Even Accenture, a former employer of Iván, has reportedly laid off thousands of employees globally, explicitly stating they’re “exiting” staff who can’t retrain in AI skills. If you’re not willing to learn AI, it seems, you might be out of luck!
But is AI the sole villain here? The hosts discuss that while AI plays a role, broader economic conditions might also be a major factor. A report shows that over 900,000 job cuts have been announced this year alone, the highest since 2020. Interestingly, only a fraction (around 17,000) are directly attributed to AI, with a whopping 300,000+ in the government sector!
From Killer Robots to Packing Pals: The Wild World of AI Advancements
Hold onto your hats, because the AI news keeps getting wilder! San Francisco is now allowing its police to deploy robots that can use potentially lethal force in emergency situations – like drones equipped with explosive charges to incapacitate dangerous individuals. Scary or necessary? You decide!
On a lighter (and less explosive) note, Google just dropped Gemini Robotics 1.5, a “vision-language-action” (VLA) model that lets robots understand visual info and turn it into physical actions. Imagine a robot packing your bags for a trip, then checking the weather on Google Search and grabbing an umbrella because it’s going to rain in London. Seriously, it’s that smart! They also released Gemini 2.5 Computer Use model, allowing AI agents to interact directly with user interfaces to book things on your mobile or automate tasks.
And of course, everyone’s jumping on the AI video bandwagon. Meta introduced “Vibes,” a new feed in the Meta AI app for sharing AI-generated video clips. Not to be outdone, OpenAI released Sora 2, their new video model that boasts impressive quality, built-in audio, and fantastic prompt understanding, even allowing you to create your own “Cameo” avatar.
But beware, the wild west of AI also has its dangers. The viral call-recording app “Neon” went dark after TechCrunch discovered a security flaw exposing users’ phone numbers, call recordings, and transcripts. Yikes!
OpenAI Wants Your Money (and Your Data)
OpenAI is making moves to monetize its dominance, partnering with NVIDIA to deploy 10 gigawatts of NVIDIA systems (that’s 10 nuclear power plants worth of energy!). And yes, you heard it here first: ads are coming to ChatGPT! To help you part with your cash even faster, they’ve also introduced “Instant Checkout” in ChatGPT, allowing users to find and buy products directly in the chat using their new “Agentic Commerce Protocol”. Plus, “Apps in ChatGPT” are here, letting you connect to services like Booking.com and Spotify right from your conversation.
They also released AgentKit, a set of tools for building, deploying, and optimizing AI agents, which includes an Agent Builder, Connector Registry, and ChatKit. While some might compare it to existing automation tools, the hosts argue it’s more about OpenAI owning the building blocks for future AI integrations.
Bootstrapped for Cash: The Future is Now!
In this episode, Giorgio also drops a bombshell about his new personal YouTube
channel (check out https://www.youtube.com/@borgoat!), and shares how he used
AI to overcome his own content creation “overthinking”.
And speaking of building, Giorgio and Iván give an exciting update on their own products, Live Monetize and DM Replies. They’re expanding to help creators monetize end-to-end, from lead generation on platforms like TikTok and YouTube (coming soon!) to offering webinars, one-on-one services, and even online courses with AI-generated quizzes. They’re looking for early adopters and feedback, so if you’re a content creator looking to sell your digital products or services, reach out!
Don’t miss this crucial conversation! Tune in to Bootstrapped for Cash to understand how AI is reshaping our world, our jobs, and what you can do to stay ahead of the curve.
💬 Drop your take in the comments: Can Gen Z survive the AI wave? And should we all start training to become AI whisperers? Let us know!
