Story perspectives

CUNY Graduate Warns AI Surge Threatens Jobs, Starts Sixth Internship

7/10/2026

Summary

Story summary

Damir Shavkatov, 22, began his sixth summer internship while warning that rising unemployment and an AI boom threaten recent graduates’ job prospects.
He graduated from Brooklyn College (CUNY) in 2026, from an Uzbek immigrant family.
CUNY, which enrolls a quarter-million students many from households under $30,000, is called a “mobility machine” and holds over half the top-10 spots in a ranking of schools that propel students into the middle class.

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Story summary

Damir Shavkatov, 22, began his sixth summer internship while warning that rising unemployment and an AI boom threaten recent graduates’ job prospects.
He graduated from Brooklyn College (CUNY) in 2026, from an Uzbek immigrant family.
CUNY, which enrolls a quarter-million students many from households under $30,000, is called a “mobility machine” and holds over half the top-10 spots in a ranking of schools that propel students into the middle class.