When a recent Harvard University graduate expressed concern to me last summer about getting a job — any job — I brushed him off. Hiring had slowed, but it was hard to imagine an Ivy League alum would struggle. But lately, I’ve been thinking back on that conversation, and how fearful many young Americans are about today’s economy, as I increasingly use artificial intelligence tools. Already, Deep Research from ChatGPT is capable of doing a lot of entry-level work that past generations of interns, analysts and computer programmers did. And this is only the beginning.

The United States is on the cusp of a massive economic shift due to AI, and it’s likely to cause greater change than anything President Donald Trump does in his second term. Much good can come from AI, but the country is unprepared to grapple with the need for millions — or perhaps tens of millions — of workers to shift jobs and entire careers.

Americans can easily recall what happened during the “China shock” from 1999 to 2011, when more than 2........

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