Many University of Iowa students, their parents, and board members of the Tippie College of Business’s advisory board  all have questions and concerns about the same thing: artificial intelligence, or AI. 

The quickly-growing technology has continued to seep into the workplace, with a reported 88 percent of respondents saying their organizations regularly use AI in at least one business function, according to McKinsey’s Global Survey 2025. 

The subject of new technology driving massive change in the workforce is not a new concept. However, AI seems to be more worrying to company executives with Chief Executive Officer of Ford Jim Farley warning in an interview with Walter Isaacson at the Aspen Ideas Festival — an annual event that brings together global leaders — that it will “replace literally half of all white-collar workers.” 

On Oct. 28, Amazon announced the reduction of 14,000 corporate roles. According to Amazon’s release, the reductions were made to “get even stronger by further reducing bureaucracy, removing layers, and shifting resources to ensure we’re investing in our biggest bets and what matters most to our customers’ current and future needs.”

William Potratz, a second-year UI student, is majoring in entrepreneurial leadership. While he hasn’t done much research into AI implications for future careers, he said he recognizes the risk and said many of his fellow students are very concerned.

“I feel like it is a little concerning because it can probably do a lot of things a lot quicker, but I don’t know if quicker is necessarily better when it comes to like accounting or what not,” Potratz said.

Ryan Wilson, department executive officer of accounting at the UI, echoed similar claims and said he gets frequent questions about AI and the job market.

“As department chair, I get a lot of students who are considering going into accounting asking me questions,” he said. “I get questions from parents. I also get questions from the advisory board members. I know it’s a concern for them for sure. They’re always concerned about what the job market is going to look like in the future.”

While numbers regarding AI use in the workplace are high, Emily Campion, associate professor of management and entrepreneurship, believes these aren’t accurate.

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“I think organizational decision makers face a lot of pressure to adopt these newer technologies that promise cost savings. This pressure can create an incentive to exaggerate, even if unintentionally,” Campion said.

Campion also cited reports that companies that last year had reduced numbers were now quietly hiring people back.

“Very quietly, many of those have been hiring people back when they realized these tools cannot replace humans to the degree that they thought they could,” Campion said.

 Visor, a firm that tracks workforce trends, reported 5.3 percent of employees who were laid off later returned to their previous employer, a rate that has held steady for several years but has recently begun to rise.

Wilson said many of the effects of AI in the accounting field might not be felt for those working in the U.S., as many large accounting firms outsource their “busy work,” or basic level accounting, to India.

“They’ve been outsourcing a lot of the busy work to India already. For better or for worse I think a lot of what AI is going to impact is going to be that work that’s been outsourced more so than the work that’s been done here domestically but that’s speculation on my part,” Wilson said.

The Economic Times also reported between the “big four” accounting firms — Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, Ernst & Young, Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler, and PricewaterhouseCoopers — there were a combined 140,000 to 160,000 people in their India global capability centers —- offshore offices that large multinational companies —  as of 2024.

Due to much of the “busy work” being taken out of accounting jobs, Wilson said accounting jobs will become more interesting.

“They’re doing less busy work. I do think it’s going to mean that our graduates are not going to have those early years of just kind of doing mindless busy work like I did when I was younger,” Wilson said.

Wilson also said students would have to perform at a higher level than before when entering the workforce, as beginner tasks are handled by AI.

“They’re going to have to use AI, and they’re going to have to look at the output critically and be operating more like what we would think of us as an experienced associate or someone with two- or three-years’ experience right out of the gate because of that technology,” Wilson said.

To prepare for the AI workforce, Campion said the UI is reshaping its curriculum to ensure students can use the tools effectively and responsibly.

“We have a new certificate that is aimed at helping students use these tools more,” Campion said. “We are revamping one of our earlier courses in a student’s plan of study to include a reasonable amount of AI use that’s paired with the fundamentals of computing technology.”

Campion recognized a key aspect of mitigating AI fear is acknowledgement and consistent conversation of the issue.

“We speak very openly about how we’re using AI, so if I use it to develop an activity, I tell them what model I used, I share with them, and I am transparent that I’m using it because I want to help normalize those sorts of uses for my students,” Campion said.