For years, headlines have warned of robots taking jobs, automation erasing careers, and artificial intelligence creating an uncertain future for younger generations. But if you ask Generation Z interns entering the workforce in 2025, the story looks very different.
According to a new survey of more than 1,100 KPMG interns across the U.S., Gen Z doesn’t see AI as a looming threat. Instead, they see it as a powerful tool they feel confident using to boost their performance. While half of respondents expect roughly 20% of their jobs to be automated once they start full-time roles, 92% believe they can adapt. What they want from their employers isn’t protection from technology—it’s mentorship, stability, and a healthier balance between work and life.
“Gen Z is making AI work for them,” said Derek Thomas, national partner-in-charge of university talent acquisition at KPMG U.S. “While other generations are still debating whether to use it, Gen Z is exploring new and creative ways to utilize AI for increased efficiency in their daily lives and enhance their performance at work.”
In an interview with Fortune, Thomas said he’s seen how, with the integration of AI into early-career workflows, “some of those mundane things that they were doing before can now be automated and the things that just didn’t take a lot of thought, more routine-type processes are now being done through technology.” New hires, often Gen Z, are getting to a point where they can deal with bigger and deeper issues, and use more critical thinking, than the previous expectation. They’re “diving into the analytical side, the more higher-risk, complicated side of things, earlier in their career than I probably would have when I was coming up.”
