By Gavin Boyle
Some experts now claim AI could replace up to 40% of the workforce, and as white collar jobs become harder to land, the younger generation could face an existential crisis.
“The question isn’t just, ‘What do I do if my job changes?’ It’s, ‘Who am I becoming?’” career and life coach Drew Dickens told Relevant Magazine. “We’ve confused productivity with purpose. AI forces us to untangle the two.”
Thankfully, the younger generation has already started this detangling as more and more young people search for stable jobs in blue collar work over the flashy white collar jobs that have been pushed for decades.
Related: Mike Rowe Discusses Blurring Line Between Blue, White Collar Jobs
“[College is] more expensive than it’s ever been, but it’s also more expensive than health care. It’s more expensive than real estate. It’s more expensive than energy,” DIRTY JOBS host and blue collar work advocate Mike Rowe said in 2023. “Never in the history of Western civilization has a thing become more exponentially expensive faster than the cost of a four-year degree. That’s fact. If that doesn’t make you angry, then I don’t know what [will]. It’s bananas.”
While these jobs are still fulfilling, they do not provide people with the same social status that a college education-based job might. However, this could be a good thing as the younger generation looks for their identity outside of their work, which could lead millions to Christ.
Former Miss Universe Demi-Leigh Tebow previously discussed how she came to rely much more on her faith after handing over her Miss Universe crown, forcing her to find identity somewhere else.
“When that Miss Universe season of [my life] came to an end, it sent me spiraling into something that was not fun,” Tebow said while speaking at a Liberty University convocation in February. “It sent me spiraling into a season that I call my waiting season. But really, it just felt like a total wasted season. Nothing good was happening, it was a dark time, it was a messy season. It was such a dark, messy season I was so insecure, so unsure of myself, I had so many questions.”
Working through these questions, though, eventually led Tebow to root herself in Christ and find her entire worth in Him.
Younger generations today have the opportunity to go through a similar shift as the world becomes less work-focused thanks to AI automation.
Now more than ever, Christians must boldly share their faith and encourage those around them to find their value in Christ, rather than in worldly status. America is set up for a revival, and surprisingly, AI may be an impetus for that.
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