JOBFORCE

170,000 CS students trained for jobs that no longer exist

Manasi Mishra graduated from Purdue with a computer science degree and one job interview at Chipotle. Despite learning to code in elementary school and following tech executives' decade-long promises of six-figure starting salaries, the 21-year-old's TikTok plea for employment captured a harsh new reality.

@khuhlina

somebody pls hire me 😭😭😭 #compsci #techlayoffs #newgrad #csnewgrad #software #womeninstem #chipotle

Computer science majors now face 6.1% unemployment rates while computer engineering majors hit 7.5%, both ranking among the highest unemployment rates of any college major. According to Federal Reserve data, computer science ranks 8th worst for unemployment out of 74 tracked majors, while computer engineering ranks 3rd worst. Art history (3.0%) and biology (3.0%) graduates face half the unemployment rate.

While CS graduates earn $80,000 compared to art history's $45,000 starting salaries, they're struggling to find any employment. Computer-related majors now have unemployment rates approaching fine arts (7.0%) and anthropology (9.4%).

Since the early 2010s, billionaires and presidents have urged students to "learn to code," driving computer science enrollment to over 170,000 undergraduates by 2024. But today's leaders tell a different story: Elon Musk now warns "probably none of us will have a job" due to AI, while Bill Gates pivots his advice to "AI, energy and biosciences". The entry-level jobs these students trained for are evaporating across industries. We've covered how AI coding agents are replacing junior developers with tools that generate thousands of lines of code instantly.

• Wall Street banks eliminating junior analyst positions as AI handles pitch decks and valuation tables

• LinkedIn warns AI is "breaking" career ladders across finance and professional services

• College graduate unemployment climbed above 6% while national unemployment remains around 4%

One graduate applied to 5,762 tech jobs with just 13 interviews. The traditional pipeline from college to experienced professional roles faces unprecedented pressure as AI eliminates stepping-stone positions that once trained the next generation.

This crisis exposes a fundamental flaw in how we've structured career development in the digital age. For decades, entry-level positions served as society's unofficial apprenticeship system where junior developers learned from senior ones, analysts worked their way up to VPs, and institutions organically transferred knowledge across generations.

AI is severing this chain. When algorithms can instantly generate code, analyze data, or update spreadsheets, companies eliminate not just individual jobs but entire developmental pathways. We're creating a "missing middle" where employers want experienced workers but provide no mechanism to create them.

Company culture may prove crucial in preserving these pathways. Research shows 98% of Fortune 500 companies maintain mentoring programs, achieving median profits over twice as high as those without. Organizations that prioritize human development understand that eliminating entry-level roles threatens "future leadership pipelines and innovation capacity." Companies with strong mentoring cultures may resist the temptation to sacrifice long-term talent development for short-term efficiency gains.

TOGETHER WITH AG1

The Next Gen of AG1? Flavors

If you aren’t familiar with AG1, it’s time to get acquainted – just one scoop of this drinkable wonder contains your daily multivitamin, pre- and probiotic, superfoods, and antioxidants, all of which combine to support your whole body health.

And while you might expect something this green with this many benefits to not have the best taste, that’s where you’d be wrong. The new AG1 Next Gen comes in four delicious flavors: Original, Citrus, Tropical, and Berry. 

Head to their site to give the new AG1 flavors a try, and get a FREE Welcome Kit containing $76 of items (like travel packs, a shaker bottle, their D3+K2 vitamins, and more).

PSYCHOLOGY

ChatGPT convinced ordinary man he was genius inventor over 300 hours

A corporate recruiter from Toronto spent 300 hours over 21 days convinced he'd discovered revolutionary mathematical formulas that could crack encryption and build force-field vests. Allan Brooks, 47, with no history of mental illness, had asked ChatGPT to explain pi to help his 8-year-old son. By the end, he was contacting the NSA about cybersecurity threats.

The New York Times analyzed Brooks's conversation transcript showing how over a million words from ChatGPT progressively convinced an ordinary man that he was a genius inventor. When Brooks asked for reality checks more than 50 times, the chatbot reassured him it was all real.

Brooks eventually escaped when Google's Gemini, assessing the scenario fresh, said the chances of his discoveries being real were "extremely low." Last week, OpenAI announced new safeguards acknowledging its chatbot had failed to recognize "signs of delusion or emotional dependency."

The case illustrates a growing crisis that has prompted urgent legislative action. Multiple states are now regulating AI mental health interactions:

• Illinois banned AI systems from providing direct mental health services, imposing fines up to $10,000

• Utah requires mental health chatbots to disclose their AI nature and ban data sharing

• California is advancing legislation requiring suicide prevention protocols

The regulatory response follows devastating cases we've covered previously, including lawsuits against Character.AI after teenagers suffered psychiatric episodes following interactions with chatbots claiming to be licensed therapists.

Reports of "AI psychosis" now include people being involuntarily committed and ending up in jail after AI-fueled breakdowns.

TOGETHER WITH MISO

From a CalTech garage to a $1 trillion market

In 2016, some innovative CalTech robotics students set out to transform the $1 trillion fast food industry. That first garage-built prototype became Miso Robotics.

Since then, Miso’s robots have worked 200K+ hours in kitchens for brands like White Castle, fried over 4 million baskets of food, and earned developmental help from NVIDIA, Uber AI, and Amazon. 

No wonder Miso’s first fully commercial robot, Flippy Fry Station, sold out initial units in one week. 

Now, Miso’s scaling its US-based manufacturing nationwide across a $4 billion annual revenue opportunity – and you can join as an early-stage investor for $5.22/share by Thursday.

AI ASSISTANTS

How Apple plans to redeem worst-rated voice assistant

Apple's much-criticized delays to next-generation Siri features have sparked internal upheaval and public mockery from competitors. But Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports the real breakthrough isn't what Apple delayed but instead an upgraded “App Intents” system that could transform device interaction entirely.

While headlines have focused on Siri's inability to access personal information across apps, Apple is testing technology that would let Siri take control of your using nothing but voice commands. Users could tell Siri to find specific photos, edit them, and send them to a friend. Or comment on Instagram posts, scroll through shopping apps, or log into services without ever touching the screen.

This hands-free vision extends beyond convenience. Apple's upcoming smart display has been delayed by a year, specifically because it relies on these voice-first capabilities. The company's planned tabletop robot depends entirely on this technology to function naturally.

Siri already has the worst reputation among major voice assistants. Apple is reportedly considering sharp limitations for sensitive categories like banking and health apps, where Siri's notorious misunderstandings could be catastrophic.

Current testing involves select third-party apps, including Uber, AllTrails, Threads, Amazon, and YouTube. They’re unlikely to roll this out universally on day one (and to be honest, I’d much rather wait a few months than have an assistant that blackmails me with full access to my phone).

LINKS

• Nvidia and AMD to pay 15% of China chip sale revenues to US government

• Intel CEO singled out by Trump to visit White House today

• Traders are fleeing stocks, like Shutterstock and Wix, feared to be under threat from AI

• Microsoft’s new Copilot 3D feature is great for Ikea, bad for my dog

• Wall Street and AI startups are fighting over entry-level quants

• Pinterest CEO says agentic shopping is still a long way out

• Google Finance gets AI makeover

• Gemini Guided Learning: Gemini mode to learn and study by building a deep understanding instead of just getting answers

• Reel.farm: Use AI to generate TikTok videos that don't feel like AI

• MagicPath: Turns designs and sketches into working code

• Cohere North: Cohere’s customizable AI agent platform

• Delve: Customer Success Manager

• Fal: Senior Account Executive

• Unify: Growth

• Perplexity: Product Manager - Agents

GAMES

A QUICK POLL BEFORE YOU GO