Author: Alena

Yang, Maya. “‘I Feel Helpless’: College Graduates Can’t Find Entry-Level Roles in Shrinking Market Amid Rise of AI.” The Guardian, 12 Apr. 2026, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/12/college-graduates-job-market-ai.

Summary: This article explores the conundrum that many recent graduates are running into, a labor market that feels a lot smaller than it did a few years ago after many work places have implemented AI. Yang highlights how entry level roles, the ones that traditionally new graduates would be perfect for, have been phased out or transformed into automated systems. Personal accounts from graduates who are struggling with the AI element of the job market especially AI screening, emphasizes the negative effects that AI has on the entry level market.

Why I liked it: I appreciated this article shining a light on one of the major reasons why a lot of college students have a bitterness towards AI. I also appreciate how it’s steering away from the rhetoric that AI is replacing humans in the job market, and more about how the process of getting hired has changed instead. It shines a little bit of hope and gives a little bit of insight on what might be going. “wrong” outside of just the idea of AI taking the place of human labor.

Alena Presley

Cassidy, John. “Can A.I. Be Pro-Worker?” The New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025, https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/can-ai-be-pro-worker.

Summary: John Cassidy dives into some really interesting research from three MIT economists who argue that AI doesn’t have to result in everyone losing their jobs. He talks about the difference between “so-so automation,” think of those frustrating automated customer service bots that don’t actually help, and AI that actually makes workers better at what they do, or their job easier.

The main takeaway is that how AI affects our future isn’t just “happening” to us. It’s a choice made by companies and policy makers. To make it “pro-worker,” we have to focus on using the tech to help people perform more complex tasks and give workers a real seat at the table.

Why I liked it: I really appreciated how this article pushes back against the idea that we’re just passive observers of the “AI revolution.” It’s easy to feel a bit anxious about how automation will change the professional world, but Cassidy’s focus on augmentation, using tech to amplify or partner with human skill, feels much more like a positive thing.

As someone who spends a lot of time thinking about how to design instructions and guides that help people move and work more intuitively, I loved the idea of AI being a “force multiplier” for human expertise rather than just a way to cut costs by replacing us. It made me feel a lot more optimistic about where we’re headed if we can get the policy side right.

John Cassidy is also someone who I have gravitated towards when it comes to the news around AI. He seems to have a relatively optimistic, yet realistic outlook on Ai and it’s progress as a whole.

MLive, 15 Feb. 2026, https://www.mlive.com/news/2026/02/when-big-tech-moves-in-next-door-could-indiana-data-center-town-be-michigans-future.html.

This article examines the “Gold Rush” of data center construction in the Midwest, which is an area particularly attractive to big tech companies looking for locations for data centers. This is because the colder climates help with lower cooling costs of the data centers, as well as the access to water.

This article specifically looks at how Michigan might be attempting to follow Indiana’s lead in attracting Big Tech giants like Amazon and Google. Driven by the growing demands of and for AI, these “hyperscale” data centers are moving into rural areas like New Carlisle, Indiana, the main subject of this article, and Saline Township, Michigan, making this topic a hit close to home.

It seems like state officials and those in the government are eager to join the “AI economy,” local residents are concerned over the industrialization of farmland, the huge strain on the power grid, and the millions of gallons of water required daily to cool AI servers.

I’ve been keeping an eye on the development of the Saline, Michigan data centers since I first heard about them, and saw the protests on the street corners of the downtown area of Saline, with a little bit of dread in the pit of my stomach. I’ve seen a lot of videos and news about how the data centers have impacted the communities surrounding them, especially when it comes to their water and power bills, and seeing one possibly moving in so close to home isn’t welcomed news.

I think this article does a good job of looking at a specific community, with a number of similarities to Saline, and seeing how it is impacting the people who live there as a way to look into our possible future. It goes beyond just the logistic aspects like the power and water, and examines the things like the emotional and social impact from the industrialized landscape and increased traffic from the construction.

Cassidy, John. “The Dangerous Paradox of A.I. Abundance.” The New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026, www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/the-dangerous-paradox-of-ai-abundance.

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Summary

In “The Dangerous Paradox of A.I. Abundance,” John Cassidy talks about the tension growing between the promise of artificial intelligence as a source of economic potential and its effects on labor and exasperation of existing inequality. Big Tech leaders and investors portray AI as a path to greater productivity and revenue, yet critics encourage us to be cautious that these benefits might have an unequal benefit to corporations rather than workers and every day people.

Cassidy draws on historical economic theory and current forecasts to show how AI’s ability to stand in for human labor could concentrate income among corporations, potentially getting rid of jobs and reducing overall wages. He also talks about competing views on how the economy might change and adapt, and what possible policy changes should happen in response.

Why I found it interesting

I found this article compelling because it disputes the often very optimistic narrative around AI abundance by putting it in a broader economic and historical context. Rather than just celebrating technological progress, Cassidy challenges readers to consider who truly benefits from AI’s growth.

The piece engages with real economic theory and brings in the current and ongoing public debates about inequality, job displacement, and how new technologies can effect society, for better or for worse.

I think it gave me a little bit more to think a little bit deeper about not just what AI does but how its effects are distributed across society. I think it is something that we are aware of in a general sense, but I had yet to consider what it would mean in this specific context.