Early-Careerists Are Overwhelmed

Episode 5 of Prompted: Liberal Arts in the Age of AI shifts the mic to those who will inherit the world most shaped by artificial intelligence: emerging scholars and young professionals. The conversation features Adam Plowman, Dacey Redman, Taheer Alibhai, Alex Johnson, and Chloe Yonkus—graduate students and rising professionals from Calvin University's Masters of Media and Strategic Communication. You'll appreciate the tone of realism, skepticism, and sometimes unease that distinguishes this episode from other conversations in this same series.These Gen Z and young millennial voices reflect on what it means to come of age in an era where AI has always been in the background, and now suddenly surges to the forefront. They name concerns about authenticity, surveillance, employability, and the speed at which expectations are shifting around them. Yet they also point toward the forms of agency, ethical courage, and community support they believe will matter most as they step into leadership.This episode offers a candid look at how those closest to the future—by age and by vocation—are feeling their way through the promises and pressures of AI. It’s an honest, grounded check-in with the generation poised to shape the next chapter of the liberal arts.The rough cut for this podcast was edited by Riley Johnston, and the production was funded by the Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship.