Chloe Ellingson for BI
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Learn AI so I can eventually go away.
That’s the mindset for many Gen Xers and Baby Boomers who are learning AI to hang onto their jobs long enough to retire. BI’s Amanda Hoover spoke to elder Americans about how they’re getting a crash course in AI as they race toward retirement.
While younger Americans worry about their job prospects for the next few decades, older Americans are on much shorter timelines. Many just need to work for a little bit longer before calling it quits.
They’re also uniquely positioned for the AI boom in the short term. Years of workplace experience mean they are a treasure trove of knowledge that could benefit the AI tools that need training.
And unlike their younger colleagues, they’re less inclined to worry about automating themselves out of a job. After all, they want to be out of a job in a few years if they can afford it.
Not everyone’s so enthusiastic about adopting AI. Amanda spoke to a 47-year-old working in legal sales who has moral qualms about the tech’s environmental footprint. But she’s also realistic about trying to future-proof herself until she can retire in a few years.
“Most people in corporate are just trying to make it to a point where they are fine financially,” she said. “You just don’t know when your ticket is punched.”
Kymm Dracup knows what it feels like to get her ticket punched.
She was unemployed for 22 months before nabbing a temporary consulting job a few months ago. But with no guarantees of future full-time work, she’s on edge. She outlined her challenges to BI’s Tess Martinelli as part of a new BI series, Still in the Game, about older Americans still looking for work.
At 56 years old, she says being older has impacted her confidence when searching for jobs. She also thinks her age is affecting her job search, although she acknowledges that it’s difficult to prove.
She was evicted from her home and moved in with her daughter, joining the many Americans who have opted for a multigenerational household to address financial pressures.
Dracup’s story shows why so many older Americans feel they can’t afford to fall behind on AI. Longer lifespans, vanishing pensions, and rising healthcare costs mean retirement has gotten more expensive, and the margin for error is thin.
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