Could Artificial Intelligence Eliminate Internships?

• Although the emergence of AI LLMs provides consumers with chatbots that iterate upon themselves, these tools are more similar to hyper-complicated, yet conditional, if-else statements than intelligent systems capable of outsmarting humans.
• From a strict cost-benefit analysis, training a revolving door of new employees who may or may not work out is exponentially more expensive than training a localized AI system that continues learning as it handles tasks.
• By learning about AI, tinkering with prompt engineering, and trying to apply what you know to your current position, you’ll automatically be in a better position than your peers.

In recent decades, Americans have been bombarded with media that romanticizes and exaggerates the capabilities of artificial intelligence. Now that AI is no longer some kind of lofty, far-off dream, people need to reconceptualize some of their preconceived notions while simultaneously accepting that the working world they’re familiar with won’t be recognizable in ten years.

When examining expert articles on AI from even half a decade ago, it’s clear how quickly this technology is advancing. As AI continues to advance, internships and entry-level positions stand to be disrupted quickly and unforgivingly — largely because positions that don’t require any kind of specialization are exponentially easier to automate.

To best understand why internships and entry-level positions are in such a tight spot, you first need to understand the current state of AI and what this technology can accomplish. Once you understand what the technology can do, you’ll have an easier time understanding what this means for non-specialized positions and how to ensure you don’t fall into this category, regardless of your current position.

Current AI overview

Thanks to misleading and uninformed media portrayals, most Americans fundamentally misunderstand AI in its current form. These portrayals are typically so benign or outright ridiculous that the average American has no frame of reference when thinking about the potential fallout from AI.

This is why it’s so important to understand the technology that’s permeating the workforce. Doing so helps workers stand out, learn specialized skills, and further their careers.

Current AI cannot “think,” it can’t “feel,” and it can’t create novel ideas (although it can creatively outperform college students).

These concepts are the end goal for countless AI researchers, but artificial general intelligence, which is an autonomous system capable of handling any kind of intellectual task that humans can perform, is still debatably hypothetical.

Although the emergence of language learning models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Grok, and Bing provide consumers with chatbots that iterate upon themselves and hold swaths of memory to recall information from, these tools are more similar to hyper-complicated, yet conditional, if-else statements than intelligent systems capable of outsmarting humans.

Despite this, narrow AI is still capable of disrupting the workforce. Mckinsey Global Institute claims that 30% of currently worked hours could be automated as soon as 2030.

If past predictions hold, then this projection won’t take half as long.

What this means for internships and non-specialized positions

The reason that internships and non-specialized jobs stand to be disrupted by AI is that these positions are the easiest to automate, particularly as localized LLMs become the norm.

Non-specialized positions like internships and other entry-level positions often deal with the handling of basic logistics, clerical duties, and other straightforward tasks that are designed to help other, more senior employees while simultaneously teaching new employees about the business.

Not to mention that these entry-level positions are typically easier to fill, and allow businesses to give potential employees a test-run period to see if they mesh with the company culture.

The problem arises when AI not only makes these positions obsolete but also begins handling all non-specialized tasks in the average office.

From a strict cost-benefit analysis, training a revolving door of new employees who may or may not work out is exponentially more expensive than training a localized LLM that continues learning as it handles tasks.

As AI advances, businesses will eventually automate all tasks that aren’t specialized in some way.

Think about it; would executives rather train one system once, and let that system continue to iterate upon itself, getting better and better over time and removing any chance of human error, or would they rather train countless employees, paying taxes and providing benefits for all of them, only for most of these employees or interns to be unprepared anyways?

If AI makes nonspecialized positions obsolete, businesses won’t need to hire so many entry-level workers or interns because the only tasks that remain will be focused and specific, meaning culture stands to take a backseat to productivity and merit.

That said, there’s no telling how these more concise, smaller-staffed companies will fare over time and thankfully, there are several ways to use this exploding industry to your advantage.

How to leverage new technology for opportunities 

Although this outlook may seem negative, the facts remain that AI is here, it’s being tirelessly worked on each day by some of the brightest minds imaginable, and ignoring its existence will only make the transition to an AI-reliant labor market more painful.

For those who are currently working in entry-level positions or as interns, it’s time to familiarize yourself with AI systems. The information is so new and hotly debated that even thirty minutes to an hour a day of reading will keep you exponentially more informed than the average person.

By learning about AI, tinkering with prompt engineering, and trying to apply what you know to your current position, you’ll automatically be in a better position than your peers.

Although AI stands to replace countless jobs, the opportunities it provides at the same time will benefit those who take the time to inform themselves beforehand.