LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman's tip to Gen Z graduates: ‘AI makes you enormously attractive’

Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and a prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist, has a clear message for the Class of 2025 and beyond: embrace artificial intelligence, not fear it.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel this week, Hoffman urged recent graduates to leverage their intuitive understanding of AI tools as a core advantage in the evolving job market.

“You are Generation AI—you’re AI-native,” Hoffman said. “Highlighting your comfort with AI in your skillset makes you a compelling candidate in today’s job landscape.”

Hoffman, also a partner at Greylock Partners, was responding to student-submitted questions about how to navigate the job search in a tech-disrupted world. Many of the queries reflected anxieties around how AI could potentially displace entry-level roles.

Acknowledging these concerns, Hoffman noted that while AI is indeed reshaping traditional workflows, particularly at the entry level, it is also creating new opportunities for digitally savvy young professionals to differentiate themselves.

“Yes, it’s disrupting entry-level tasks and causing uncertainty among employers,” Hoffman said. “But it’s also a chance to stand out. You can use AI to showcase your creativity, efficiency, and problem-solving abilities—skills that more senior colleagues might still be developing.”

Hoffman encouraged graduates to frame their AI fluency not just as technical knowledge, but as a collaborative strength—one that could help modernise teams and enhance productivity in legacy work environments.

The comments come amid broader discussions on AI’s impact on the global workforce, with many employers still figuring out how to integrate generative AI tools into business processes without diminishing human roles. For digitally fluent Gen Z professionals, this uncertainty may well be a strategic advantage.

Earlier, Hoffman cautioned against the growing trend of portraying AI systems as emotional companions, arguing that such framing risks undermining human relationships and emotional well-being, reported Business Insider.

During the Possible podcast, Hoffman asserted that no current AI tool possesses the emotional depth required to qualify as a friend, and that suggesting otherwise could be psychologically harmful, added the publication. “I don’t think any AI tool today is capable of being a friend,” he said. “And I think if it’s pretending to be a friend, you’re actually harming the person in so doing.”