We’re Seeing More Signals of AI Job Disruption (Including a “Stop Hiring Humans” Campaign)

A wave of unsettling signals is flashing across the labor market for workers (especially younger, entry-level ones), and AI may be playing a bigger role than anyone is ready to admit.

Some new reports and developments appears to provide growing evidence that AI is accelerating job disruption, especially for recent college graduates. And while the data isn’t yet conclusive, the timing and scope of recent developments suggest that the age of AI-enabled labor displacement may already be underway.

What's going on when it comes to AI and jobs? I got the scoop from Marketing AI Institute founder and CEO Paul Roetzer on Episode 146 of The Artificial Intelligence Show.

The Recent-Grad Gap: A Troubling Trend

According to a new report from The Atlantic, unemployment among recent college graduates has risen to 5.8%—an unusual spike at a time when the broader economy remains relatively stable. Even graduates from elite MBA programs are reportedly struggling to land jobs, and law school applications are surging, which is a classic move during periods of economic distress.

One of the most provocative theories behind this shift, according to the report? AI might be replacing the very kind of entry-level knowledge work new grads typically do.

Tasks like synthesizing information, creating presentations, and writing reports are exactly the kind of jobs that large language models now excel at. According to the Atlantic piece, if firms are indeed substituting junior workers with generative AI, this is exactly what the data would begin to look like.

Roetzer agrees that it’s still speculative, but also sees the pattern forming.

“I don’t know for a fact this is what’s happening, but it sure makes a lot of sense,” he says.

CEOs at firms of all sizes are beginning to wake up to the fact that AI models can now perform the types of work they used to hire for at the entry level.

Even Economists Are Starting to Pay Attention

Another signal we're paying attention to:

Anthropic also recently announced the formation of an economic advisory council composed of a group of "distinguished economists" to assess AI’s impact on labor markets, economic growth, and the broader socioeconomic system.

It's the kind of institutional engagement on the issue of job displacement that Roetzer has long called for, and a sign that others, especially economists, are actually waking up to the fact that AI may have disruptive effects on the labor force.

"I think it's great that like Anthropic is doing this," he says. "I hope Google is doing something similar and hasn't talked about it yet. I hope OpenAI is doing something similar."

But he also cautions that many economists still don’t fully grasp the power and trajectory of AI tools. He notes that he's talked with leading economists who, as of six months ago, "had no real interest in studying the impact of AI in the economy."

"They thought it was overblown," he says. "It became very apparent, very quickly, that they were unaware of the current power of these models and the very near-term power of these models."

When the PR Stunt Reflects a Deeper Truth

The disruption isn’t just theoretical.

Startups like Artisan are leaning into the AI-powered future, even if their messaging is controversial. Artisan, which builds AI agents for outbound sales, recently ran a bold marketing campaign with billboards that read: “Stop Hiring Humans.”

It was a PR stunt, and not without backlash—even drawing death threats. But it also sparked a real conversation. The startup, led by 23-year-old founder Jasper Carmichael-Jack, claims its agents now send flawless sales emails at scale, serving over 250 clients and bringing in $5 million in revenue.

Ironically, Artisan is also hiring more humans. But their messaging hit a nerve.

“This kind of thing is going to get talked about more, because it's becoming OK to talk about it," Roetzer predicts. "It's going to become more accepted to talk about how few people you have and that you plan to hire."

That's not necessarily a bad thing if you're an AI-native company starting and building from the ground up, and can do it with fewer people. But for AI-emergent companies—those with large existing workforces—the implications are more complex. If these companies have 1,000 (or 10,000) employees and are now saying they can cut that in half?

"That's where we're going to have problems in the economy and workforce," says Roetzer.

The Bottom Line: A Messy, Accelerating Shift

The signals are getting louder. Job disruption from AI may no longer be hypothetical. Whether through cold-blooded efficiency metrics or controversial marketing, companies are beginning to say the quiet part out loud.

And for many white-collar workers—especially the newest ones—the implications are becoming harder to ignore.