As artificial intelligence reshapes entry-level employment, Illinois employers should use the technology to improve productivity without eliminating the learning opportunities that help develop the next generation of engineers.
Dear Editor, The Sentinel recently covered Illinois efforts to recruit and retain young engineers, including internships and apprenticeship partnerships designed to strengthen the talent pipeline. Stanford Digital Economy Lab’s Aug. 12 update finds employment among U.S. workers ages 22–25 in highly AI-exposed occupations about 19% below where it would be if it had kept pace with less-exposed occupations for the same age group. Reduced hiring drives most of the adjustment. Illinois employers should protect the learning that happens after routine preparation. Let AI draft the first summary or calculation, then make junior employees test assumptions, resolve exceptions and explain recommendations to experienced reviewers. Give beginners increasingly difficult cases and track time to independent competence. That preserves the talent pipeline employers already say they need while still capturing AI’s productivity gains.
Gleb Tsipursky
Columbus, OH
Columbus, OH
Gleb Tsipursky, PhD, a behavioral scientist, CEO of Disaster Avoidance Experts, and author of The Psychology of AI Adoption at Work: From Resistance to Results (Georgetown University Press, 2026).