AI now taking over entry-level white-collar tasks — academics

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Associate Editor

MADRID — Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly automating tasks traditionally assigned to junior professionals, raising concerns about how future workers will gain the experience needed to advance into senior roles, according to academic leaders at IE University in Spain.

Speaking at a media roundtable on AI, higher education, and the future of work, Rafif Srour, vice-dean of the IE School of Science and Technology, said universities are already grappling with the implications of AI on entry-level employment.

“Many of the traditional entry-level jobs… such as junior analysts and junior programmers or junior consultants, they’re becoming increasingly automated,” she said.

“The biggest question for me and for us is how do our junior graduates become senior if they’re not given that opportunity in the industry.”

The concern comes as organizations adopt AI tools capable of performing research, coding, analysis, and other tasks that have long served as training grounds for young professionals.

To address this, universities should work on developing or strengthening partnerships with industry and integrating applied projects into their programs to expose students to real-world expertise before graduation, she said.

“We’re trying to move it forward to our classroom,” Ms. Srour said, referring to industry experience that students traditionally gained during their first years in the workforce.

She cited how IE is redesigning its science and technology programs to develop graduates who are “deep thinkers,” “systems thinkers,” “builders,” and “entrepreneurial,” while arguing that future professionals must combine technical expertise with the ability to connect technology to business and society.

HYPER TEAMS
Lee Newman, dean of IE Business School, said AI is likely to reshape the structure of organizations, enabling smaller teams to accomplish work that previously required much larger departments.

“I think what we’re going to see is what I would call hyper teams,” he said.

Under this model, teams composed of a small number of specialists supported by powerful AI systems could handle functions previously performed by entire business units.

“That team of four with AI in the very near future will be able to accomplish what an entire department or business unit used to do,” he said.

As a result, schools must prepare students to become “orchestrators of work,” managing both people and AI systems.

Mr. Newman said future graduates will need not only cognitive and emotional intelligence, but also what he described as “context intelligence” and “behavioral intelligence.”

“We have to teach these human skills,” he said, adding that understanding organizational context, influencing others, and resolving conflicts will remain important in an AI-driven workplace.

LEGAL PROFESSION
While AI is expected to alter work across industries, Soledad Atienza, dean of IE Law School, said demand for legal services remains strong. “Law firms keep hiring, they keep raising salaries, they keep making partners. There is more demand for legal services than ever.”

The question is not whether legal work will disappear, but who will deliver it in the future, she said.

“We may see a shift,” she said, citing the growth of in-house legal departments and the emergence of AI-enabled independent practitioners.

IE Law School has provided students and faculty access to legal AI tools such as Harvey, an AI platform designed for legal research, document review and drafting, to help them understand both the capabilities and limitations of the technology.

“We better start teaching them how to use it. Not because they need to learn to use the tool, which is not complex at all, but because they need to understand the limitations, the ethical use, the correct use, the responsible use of this tool.”

She said law schools must balance the efficiency gains offered by AI with the need to cultivate judgment and critical thinking among future legal professionals.

PRODUCTIVITY AND GOVERNANCE
For Borja Santos, vice-dean of the IE School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs, AI’s impact extends beyond business and education into economics, governance, and international relations.

“AI gives a lot of productivity, and we need to measure the monetary value of that incredible increase in productivity,” he said.

He noted that AI is influencing labor markets, reshaping relations among countries, and fueling competition over semiconductor production, cloud infrastructure, and software development.

“There is an incredible geopolitical battle for the production of chips.”

Mr. Santos also said educational institutions should embrace AI while also recognizing its risks.

Students are increasingly relying on AI tools for everyday tasks, he said, creating concerns about declining attention spans and critical-thinking skills.

“We need to institutionalize something called cognitive patience,” he said. “You need to have patience to learn.”

While AI can help provide personalized feedback and coaching, universities must also create environments where students can struggle, make mistakes, and learn independently.

“In the struggle is where you learn,” Mr. Santos said.

The four academic leaders stressed that higher education institutions must place greater emphasis on judgment, problem framing, creativity, systems thinking, and other capabilities that remain difficult to automate.

“We’re moving away from how much information the students can memorize towards what capabilities students can demonstrate,” Ms. Srour said.