BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, 73, has warned that the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) tools could create a ‘crisis’ for the graduating Gen Z college students. Speaking at BlackRock’s 2026 Infrastructure Summit, Fink stated that the technology could wipe out the entry-level roles that traditionally kickstart corporate careers, potentially leading to record-high unemployment.
“When this year’s college graduates enter the workforce, we could see the highest unemployment rate among them in years, even without a recession,” said Fink as per Fortune.
“The speed at which AI is changing, we’re not adapting our society fast enough. Really, post World War II, the pathway to a white-collar job was a college education, and AI is going to disrupt many of those types of jobs.”
Fink highlighted that the usual pathway of completing a four-year college before transitioning to an entry-level job was becoming just one of several viable paths to success.
“The key for life for everyone is to find their purpose. For some people, their purpose will remain to get a four-year or advanced degree, and they could take that forward but that’s not going to be the pathway for everybody.”
Fink added that AI may create skilled-trade jobs, but the workforce was not yet ready to fill them, potentially aggravating the employment situation.
“[AI] is going to create many jobs and we’re not prepared as a society to fulfill those jobs,” Fink said. “And to me, this is a crisis.”
White-Collar Jobs
Fink is not the only one concerned about the future of college students. Last year, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei stated that AI could wipe out half of the entry-level white-collar jobs within the next five years. Amodei said repetitive-but-variable tasks in law firms, consulting, administration, and finance could be eliminated soon, with CEOs looking to use AI to cut costs.
“Specifically, if we look at jobs like entry-level white, you know, I think of people who work at law firms, like first-year associates, there’s a lot of document review. It’s very repetitive, but every example is different. That’s something that AI is quite good at,” Amodei said.
“I think, to be honest, a large fraction of them would like to be able to use it to cut costs to employ less people,” he added.
Geoffrey Hinton, regarded by many as the ‘godfather of AI’, has also stated that the rise of technology will make companies more profitable than ever, but it may come at the cost of workers losing their jobs, with unemployment expected to rise to catastrophic levels.