AI Could Be a Disaster for Junior Staff Development. Here's a Remedy

Using tech to enhance, not replace, traditional processes

Replacing entry-level positions with AI presents a huge problem for the future talent pipeline. Sunup’s AI’s Effect on the Marketing Industry report revealed that 91 percent of U.S. senior agency leaders expect AI to reduce head counts, and all of their member companies are using such tech in some capacity. In a world where AI is non-negotiable, employers and junior talent are rethinking entry-level roles.

But there’s another issue hiding in plain sight. If, just as they begin their careers, young employees are required to use AI for some of the most foundational skills in the business, it could rob them of the experience they will need to level up.

As revolutionary as AI is for so many entry-level tasks, quality control from someone who knows how to do the job and hold AI accountable is still a must. Skipping the development of these foundational skills in favor of outsourcing to tech is a disaster in the making.

So, how do we avoid creating a gap in essential knowledge and critical thinking for professionals who will need those skills to become leaders in the future?

Double Down on Talent Pipeline Investments

If you believe AI can replace your interns and entry-level employees today, you’ll be in for a rude awakening when you can’t find anyone with the experience to fill mid-level roles tomorrow. If anything, investing in training programs and entry-level positions is even more important with the integration of AI. Because no one will know better how to work with those systems than the team members that have been trained on their usage from day one.

Use AI to Enhance, Not replace, Traditional Processes

Schools teach kids to do math by hand before they allow them to use calculators. Later on, if a calculator tells us that 3 + 5 = 10, we know something is wrong. AI is an accelerator, not a replacement—and a less reliable one at that. It is essential that skills development include understanding how AI-integrated processes should work without the help of tech to determine what success looks like, and to know what to do if AI is wrong.

As many of us have experienced in recent years, knowing what the end result should be makes working with AI easier and yields higher-quality outcomes. After all, how does a junior copywriter distinguish between good and bad GenAI content (sales-driving ad copy, for example) if they don’t know for themselves what a good end product looks like?

Protect Essential Core Skills

AI in business is nearly ubiquitous. But just because you can use it for a task doesn’t mean you should. Too often, data analysis and writing are assigned to AI when they would provide critical learning opportunities for entry-level professionals.

Companies across the board and agencies in particular should consider policies that help juniors learn core skills before becoming reliant on AI for them. The solution will look different depending on the industry and the job—like barring entry-level team members from using AI for certain jobs until they’re proficient or teaching traditional and AI-enabled processes in tandem. The common aim is vital for all businesses: secure the brain power of future leaders.

AI is here to stay, but it doesn’t have to destroy the talent pipeline and undermine the critical thinking we need in future leaders. If we put the proper protocols in place now, we can safeguard the next generation of employees from tech’s effects on their knowledge, experience and advancement.

We can teach them how to work alongside AI to produce the best work possible, without losing accountability.