This emerging AI native group understands the limitations but also expects these technologies to fundamentally change the way work gets done. Half of college students set to graduate this year say they will develop new skills because of the emergence of GenAI, according to a survey of 1,148 class of 2024 college students by student-focused jobs site Handshake.

The report also reveals that one out of three college seniors—and more than half of tech majors—plans to use GenAI in their career, while 20% indicated they’d be more likely to take a job where they could experiment with GenAI.

Some are already doing just that. When Madison DaValle joined ServiceNow as a public relations intern during college in 2021, she never expected to use AI and low-code development tools to build apps. But then DaValle saw how her team fielded a steady stream of press release requests via Word docs, emails, Teams, and Zoom calls. To streamline the intake process, she built an app using AI-augmented, low-code tools. “We saw a business need for it, and it was really easy and cool to do,” she says. “There was a big push around being a citizen developer, so I was able to access the training I needed to get it done.”

Giving employees the chance to experiment with technologies in the workplace is hugely important both for their own development and for the business. Looking forward, employers should foster opportunities to help their employees become “internal entrepreneurs,” who can take big, bold ideas and make them profitable and effective using technology, says ASU’s Maynard. As technological innovation accelerates, more employers will seek workers with such an entrepreneurial spirit.