Artificial Intelligence is here to stay and it has already started impacting jobs. Well, the job losses due to it automating several jobs is massive, and the first ones to be impacted by it are coders and developers. A Stanford study conducted by economists Erik Brynjolfsson, Ruyu Chen, and Bharat Chandar highlights that young employees are the most adversely affected by the rise of AI.
What did the Study find?
The study, carried out by economists, analysed payroll data from ADP covering millions of workers in the US between late 2022—when ChatGPT launched—and mid-2025. The findings reveal that while employment in the US remains broadly strong, generative AI has led to a sharp decline in opportunities for workers aged 22 to 25 in industries like software development and customer service.
Additionally, AI tools such as ChatGPT are taking away entry-level opportunities in coding and other AI-exposed fields. All while benefiting experienced professionals. The report states budding developers are the most at risk. Entry-level coders are seeing fewer openings as many of the tasks traditionally assigned to them, such as writing basic code or debugging, can now be handled quickly by AI systems. In fact, the data shows a decline of around 16 per cent in employment among young workers in AI-exposed industries since 2022, with software engineering among the hardest hit.
Not all is Gloomy!!
On the other hand, more experienced professionals in the same fields have been largely insulated. In some cases, their employment levels have even grown modestly. According to the researchers, the different impact on young and seasoned professionals is due to the distinction between “book knowledge”, which AI can easily replicate, and “tacit knowledge” such as problem-solving skills, judgement, and team management, which remain difficult for machines to mimic.
Strategic Recruitment, Not Mass Recruitment
Despite the drop in junior roles, the study stresses that AI is not collapsing entire industries. In fact, overall job numbers in tech and customer-facing sectors remain steady. Instead, companies are said to be reducing their reliance on new hires while retaining or expanding roles for experienced staff. Importantly, wages have not declined significantly, suggesting that firms are managing disruption by slowing recruitment rather than slashing pay.
In short, the study highlights that AI is reshaping the composition of workforces rather than eliminating jobs outright. Roles that rely heavily on repetitive tasks, such as answering customer queries or writing boilerplate code, are at the frontline of automation. But in areas where AI is serving as an assistant rather than a replacement, employment levels are stable or even rising.