Evolving Industry
The Cost of AI Hype on Human-First Tech Talent
Veteran technologists often compare the dot-com era’s frenzy to the current rush toward AI.
But while the early 2000s exalted young experts as rockstars, today’s culture carries a dangerous message: expertise is replaceable.
Jessica Want, Enterprise Data Practices Director at the Maryland Department of Information Technology, argued that AI hype is creating a culture that is actively diminishing the next generation of talent.
The challenge for leaders is to cut through the noise and rebuild the human infrastructure that makes real innovation possible.
Jessica talked with us about:
- The danger of AI hype on the talent pipeline
- Why rigid frameworks undercut user experience (UX)
- The loss of organic mentorship and how to fix it
The Human Cost of the AI Bubble
In the early days of the internet, young people were handed the keys to the castle because they understood the new technology.
Today, that same generation of talent is being told they are unnecessary.
“It's a very scary time to be a young person in this industry,” Jessica explained. “I think you're getting the constant message that you're replaceable, that we don't want entry level.”
This shift creates a dangerous paradox. While AI is useful, it is not a “magic bullet” and still requires human expertise to wield mindfully.
Jessica argued that diminishing new talent will lead to a broader loss of creativity and thought.
“We're just losing creativity and thought... AI just builds upon itself. And so, it'll become an echo chamber after a while.”
She drew a parallel to the dot-com boom, where the problem wasn't a lack of online buying interest, but a failure of logistics and support.
She believes the same is true for AI.
“The problem with the dot-com boom was that there was this... problem of logistics,”
Jessica said, “I think that the metaphor is going to extend itself to AI, too. It's great, but the way that you have to support it is by already being an expert.”
Why UX Is a Cost, Not a Metric of Success
For many business leaders, the importance of User Experience (UX) is a given.
Yet, Jessica has seen firsthand how frameworks and organizational priorities can push UX to the background, treating it as a cost rather than a foundational metric of success.
She explained that early in her career, the value of good UX was quantifiable.
“I was working at Barnes & Noble... when we built better interfaces,” Jessica recounted. “So the cost per call would go down and the calls would go down.”
The tension became explicit with the rise of certain methodologies.
“What I've always found tricky is when people lean on frameworks like Agile... [it] didn't actually take into account user experience,” she said.
Jessica noted that Agile, in its purest form, often sacrifices UX for the sake of time and the bottom line.
“There is no room for UX there… And so, there was this tension that was established where UX was pushed to the background because it just seemed like cost.”
The Lost Art of Organic Mentorship
One of the greatest losses in the modern, often remote, industry is the organic mentorship that used to happen serendipitously.
This is a critical problem when companies are actively pushing out junior talent.
Jessica recalled how essential this casual guidance was.
“I benefited from somebody just walking past my desk and saying, ‘Oh, Jess, I'm on my way to such-and-such meeting. Just come in. Don't say anything. Just sit and listen.’”
She noted that it is now on leaders to be proactive and intentional to fill that gap.
“As people managers... the onus is on you to look for the opportunities to say, ‘Just come and sit in this room.’”
This mentorship is not just about technical skill, but about navigating culture, particularly for women and minorities — groups that have had a difficult time carving their space in the field.
Jessica advised looking to peers and mentors to learn how to conduct yourself.
She recounted watching her female boss “just ninja her way through backlash in a meeting,” without being defensive.
“You have to look for the people you can learn from all the time. All the time.”
In conclusion, the best advice Jessica ever received perfectly captured the challenge of career progression and scaling one’s own capabilities.
It’s a concept that applies equally to leaders and individual contributors.
“The next job you have isn’t just more of the last job. So when you move from... senior product manager into director of product, it's an entirely different career. It's not just more and bigger.”
Craving more? You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to Evolving Industry on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.