Sagar Goel, David Martin, Charikleia Kaffe

When AI handles the analytical grunt work—such as research, drafting, debugging, and problem decomposition—that junior employees have traditionally performed and learned from, they miss out on the formative repetitions that build judgment. Several leaders noted that a person cannot develop discernment without first doing the work. The reinforcing cycle of de-skilling is already visible, as one leader described, “Less hands-on practice feeds into less ownership, which feeds into less scrutiny of AI outputs.” In turn, this means fewer opportunities to exercise judgment and engage in hands-on practice.