Source: Ergosphere
The threat from AI agents isn't to expert cognitive work but to the junior researchers, lab technicians, and knowledge workers who perform the structured, repetitive tasks that traditionally funnel people into scientific careers. If AI handles literature review, data processing, and experimental design grunt work, the career ladder itself collapses—not because machines can think like scientists, but because the apprenticeship pathway disappears. The question isn't whether machines can do science, but whether human institutions will still invest in training the next generation when the entry-level work evaporates.