Former Microsoft Business Division President Jeff Raikes is warning that companies allowing artificial intelligence to absorb entry-level work could be creating a "talent debt" by removing the experiences young workers need to develop critical thinking and judgment.
Raikes, who also previously served as CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, wrote in a Fortune post published Sunday that new workplace and education data are beginning to show the problem he first warned about in April.
Critical Thinking Raikes pointed to Microsoft Corp.‘s (NASDAQ:MSFT) 2026 Work Trend Index, which surveyed 20,000 workers across 10 countries.
It found that critical thinking and the ability to judge AI output are becoming key workplace skills.
Only 16% of workers can move effectively between directing AI and doing the work themselves, a group Microsoft calls "Frontier Professionals." Some deliberately complete tasks without AI to keep their thinking sharp.
