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AI Is Forcing a New Way Into the Workforce: How the Next Generation Succeeds as the First Job Disappears

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EasyA Founders Dom and Phil Kwok Join Planet Classroom to Challenge the Future of Work: Building Skills Over Credentials

NEW YORK, July 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As artificial intelligence automates the entry-level roles that once defined early careers, a new question is emerging for educators, employers, and policymakers: If the traditional first job disappears, how does the next generation gain experience?

 

In the latest episode of AI For A Better World, Planet Classroom Co-Founder and CEO C. M. (Cathy) Rubin sits down with Dom and Phil Kwok, co-founders of EasyA, to examine how artificial intelligence is transforming the first step into the workforce.

“We’ve all heard the headline that AI is coming for your job,” Rubin says. “But the real crisis isn’t job loss—it’s the ladder being kicked away.”

From Entry-Level Roles to the “Vanishing Ladder”

Rubin challenges the Kwoks on the future of career development when the traditional pathway—degree, internship, junior role—begins to collapse. Dom Kwok, drawing on his own background as a former analyst at Blackstone, points to a fundamental shift in upskilling already underway.

“Much of the work junior employees used to do—Excel spreadsheets, making presentations, really doing the menial stuff—is being automated,” Dom explains. “Models like Claude are replacing some of the junior work… it’s going to result in much fewer analysts needed. The entry-level job as we know it, I think, is over.”

Rather than eliminating opportunity, the shift is redefining it. Dom notes that as routine tasks disappear, early-career professionals can skip the office “manual labor” and move directly to more complicated work that requires a blend of emotional intelligence (EQ) and IQ.

Proof of Skill Over Proof of Degree: The Power of GitHub

As Rubin presses further, the conversation turns to what frontier tech employers value most today. “When a top-tier company looks at talent today,” she asks, “are they looking at the GPA or the GitHub?”

“Definitely the GitHub,” Dom Kwok responds. “We want to see the projects they’ve actually built… We’ve actually hired some of our best engineers, and they never went to school. They never even went to university. But they started building right away and they ultimately had very impressive GitHubs.”

The episode highlights how traditional résumés are heading for the recycling bin, replaced by demonstrable outputs that prove a candidate can think outside the box in real time.

Learning by Doing and the Rise of “Vibe Coding”

With over a million people learning on EasyA, the Kwoks champion hands-on execution over passive lecture halls. Dom explains that much like learning to fly a plane or bake a cake, you cannot truly understand coding until you get your hands dirty.

Furthermore, advanced AI tools are democratizing this process through what is now known as “vibe coding”—allowing hobbyists and non-traditional students to easily build mobile applications just by putting in a clear prompt.

To prove this model works, Phil Kwok shares the success story of an underdog student builder named Ash, who launched a project at an EasyA hackathon in 2022, bypassed traditional collegiate timelines, and survived intense startup challenges to successfully launch Axel, a cutting-edge Web3 and AI agent startup in New York.

AI as a Global Equalizer

While concerns about access persist, the Kwoks emphasize that AI is actively dismantling geographic barriers. “AI removes those barriers,” Dom explains. “You no longer need to pay for an expensive course and sit through hours and weeks of bootcamps… Anyone can literally get stuck in from their homes anywhere in the world.”

Phil Kwok, reflecting on his legal studies at Cambridge University, notes that while universities exist to teach students how to think, AI is the ultimate tool that allows individuals to immediately execute those thoughts.

Looking to the future, Phil predicts a world dominated by solo entrepreneurs powered by automation. “In the age of AI, the ideas person is more powerful than ever. You can build things today that used to require entire teams… It’s very possible to have a one-man billion-dollar company.”

Key Takeaways for the Future of Work:

The Vanishing Analyst: How AI models are taking over spreadsheets and presentations, permanently shrinking traditional corporate junior roles.The GitHub Currency: Why real-world project portfolios are bypassing university degrees in frontier tech hiring.The Vibe Coding Era: How AI acts as a force multiplier, allowing an individual with a clear vision to execute projects that once required teams of 20.The Borderless Workspace: How free AI tools are leveling the playing field for creators in remote regions without elite institutional connections.

Rubin closes the episode with a powerful reflection that reframes modern education: “The question isn’t who will hire you. It’s what can you build?”

Watch AI for a Better World: AI and the Future of Entry-Level Jobs

About Dom and Phil Kwok

Dom and Phil Kwok are co-founders of EasyA, a global platform that helps developers and entrepreneurs learn by building through hackathons and hands-on projects. Their work focuses on equipping the next generation with the skills needed to succeed in emerging technologies.

About C. M. (Cathy) Rubin

C. M. (Cathy) Rubin is Co-Founder and CEO of Planet Classroom and Founder of CMRubinWorld. A multimedia journalist and regular Forbes contributor who has authored more than 800 interviews and articles, Rubin focuses on human-centered AI strategy and global education transformation.

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SOURCE Planet Classroom Network

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Canton Fair Buyers Alliance Launched as the 140th Edition Opens

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October 18, 2026

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GUANGZHOU, China, Oct. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On October 15, the Canton Fair Buyers Alliance was officially launched at the Canton Fair Complex, marking a significant milestone as the fair celebrates the 70th anniversary of its founding.

More than 140 overseas buyers attended the launch ceremony, highlighting the fair’s enduring role as a bridge connecting global commerce with China’s export sector.

Speaking at the ceremony, Luís Vilariça, CEO of Joinco, Import & Export, Ltd., discussed his company’s long-standing relationship with the Canton Fair. Drawing on years of participation, he reflected on the growth opportunities created through cooperation with Chinese suppliers and highlighted the fair’s role in supporting international business development and global trade exchanges.

The ceremony also featured a joint declaration by alliance members. Representatives from five member companies read the statement in their respective native languages, underscoring the international character of the new organization. Additional members sent video congratulatory messages, joining the celebration and witnessing the official launch of the alliance.

The Canton Fair Buyers Alliance represents one of the fair’s key service innovations. Designed primarily for Fortune Global 500 companies, buyers from the world’s top 250 retailers and leading sourcing enterprises across a diverse range of markets, the alliance aims to offer members a platform for information sharing and resource coordination. The first cohort of alliance members includes 58 companies from 32 countries and regions across 5 continents. Through the alliance, members will gain access to a range of priority benefits spanning four major areas: services, events, resources and information.

 For more convenient attendance, please click here for pre-registration:

https://buyer.cantonfair.org.cn/register/buyer/email?source_type=16

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SOURCE Canton Fair

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Bioethanol from human hair – Indian start-up’s solution to rising prices of grains and sugar

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2 hours ago

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October 18, 2026

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GUJARAT, India, Oct. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — In what could be called the beginning of the 5G (fifth-generation) of bioethanol or non-cellulosic bioethanol or non-sugar-based biofuels, an Indian start-up, Techofest Global, based out of Gujarat, has developed its own, indigenous, and patented technology for the production of bioethanol from waste human hair. Such processes would significantly reduce the employment of sugars, grains, and agricultural residues, which form the classical first- and second-generation bioethanol feedstocks. As a result, the rising fuel-vs.-food/fodder debate is anticipated to reduce, and instead, ethanol produced from municipal/industrial waste, after trials, can supplement the current supply being used as blends with presently retailed fossil fuels (E20, E27, etc.). 

As stated by Dr. Ravi, the founder-CEO of Techofest Global, the strategic priority and the USP of the start-up is industrial symbiosis, which, typically, involves an ecosystem of up-cycling/valorising the effluents of an industry, thereby creating a value-chain for residues often lacking an end-of-life. With more than three decades of experience in designing customized nuclear fusion reactors for international programmes, such as ITER, JET/UKAEA and SST-1, Dr. Ravi, a seasoned mechanical engineer, spearheads the start-up’s patented technologies’ scale-up and commercialization.

Two biochemical engineers, Dr. Navnit – the former CTO, and Dr. Kabilan – the former CEO of Biomakerz, Chennai, are the brains behind the current technology/process portfolio of the joint-venture between Techofest Global and Biomakerz. They have been working on biorefineries’ process intensification for more than a decade. “Having foreseen the fuel-vs-fodder/food competition as early as the year 2015, we began developing techno-economically feasible and viable in-vitro metabolically-engineered bioprocesses for scaling-up ethanol production from municipal waste streams between 2019–2021”, says Navnit. After developing operational technologies for international biofuel organizations, serving process engineer roles with certain biorefineries-related OMC R&D’s of India, Dr. Navnit, presently works for a premier academic institution.

An on-going fermentation trial at the Techofest Global-Biomakerz JV’s R&D facility

Techofest Global has developed and tested, in its R&D JV’s pilot-facility of ~100-L, 3 innovative and cost-effective technologies, such as 5G ethanol production using human hair, used cooking oil (UCO), and enriched bio-methane production from disposed sanitary napkins.

“With massive CapEx and OpEx, 2G ethanol technology is facing a major commercialization bottleneck, owing to competition with food/livestock fodder, requirement of a cost-intensive pre-treatment procedure, and the requirement of cellulolytic cocktails, which have a poor recycle efficiency. The proprietary 5G SAFE process developed for the start-up circumvents the mentioned constraints, and instead, utilizes a single-stage saccharification followed by fermentation, and records over 85–90% biocatalyst recovery. Likewise, the proprietary SIM process for bio-methane production, exclusively developed for the start-up, is 2x faster with improved intermittent feeding cycles and continuous gas harvest”, says Navnit.

“With on-going pre-commercialization trials, the proprietary ethanol and bio-methane processes of ours are soon being commercialized”, says Ms. Bhumika, the co-founder and the corporate advisor of the start-up. Furthermore, Mr. Ronak pilots the organization’s global market entry and commercialization frontier.

Techofest Global’s veteran Principal Technology Advisors include: Dr VS Tripathi, former Joint Director, DRDE Gwalior, Dr B S Munjal, former Director, Structures and Thermal group, SAC/ISRO, Academician and Advisor CIKS-Dharohar, GTU, and Dr AV Santhanababu, former Scientist at Satish Dhawan Space Centre. With on-going R&D activities, Dr. Munjal says, “the start-up is striving to provide a unique solution along the lines of the Atmanirbhar and Viksit Bharat Vision 2047”.

Media Contact: www.techofestglobal.com; e-mail: info@techofestglobal.com; contact person: The PR team of Techofest Global.

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As AI Speeds Up Marketing, Louisville’s RedTag Bets on Strategy

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7 hours ago

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October 17, 2026

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Independent agency unveils new brand and website, and co-hosts Louisville’s PROOF AI Workshop

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Oct. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — RedTag, an independent Louisville-based marketing agency, this month unveiled new positioning, marking its evolution from a digital performance agency into a strategy-first marketing partner. The move comes as AI makes execution faster than ever, and RedTag is betting that strategy, not speed, is what will set businesses apart. Clients can now choose from outcome-based programs that best fit their marketing needs. 

“Clients don’t come to us needing more tactics. They come to us needing a path,” said Russ Renbarger, founder and CEO of RedTag. “Our new brand says out loud what our work has shown for years: We start with strategy and build everything on that foundation.”

RedTag built its reputation on high-performing paid digital campaigns. Over the years, the agency expanded into strategy, creative, video production and website development, giving clients one partner for the full scope of their marketing. Most recently, a team of automation specialists has integrated AI across the agency to speed up production and analysis, guided by an internal AI policy that keeps people accountable for quality. The time AI saves goes back into strategy: knowing what to say, who to say it to and why.

“Our best client relationships have always been partnerships, where we’re in the room when the big decisions get made,” said Alison Conway, chief client officer at RedTag. “This evolution is about bringing that strategic partnership to every client.”

On Oct. 14, RedTag co-hosted the PROOF AI Workshop with Slingshot, Vsimple and Advanced Business Solutions. The hands-on event gave Louisville business leaders practical experience applying AI to their own work. RedTag led the event’s AI in Marketing and Branding track, with four sessions ranging from AI search optimization to a playbook for adopting AI across an organization.

“AI can produce hundreds of ads in an afternoon, but it can’t tell you which one your brand actually needs and why,” Renbarger said. “The faster the tools get, the more valuable human-led strategy becomes.”

RedTag was named the agency of record for the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 2025. Its client list includes PGA of America, Castle & Key Distillery, Bourbon Barrel Foods, ShopCaterpillar and American Beverage Marketers. Since 2023, RedTag’s work has received two Emmy Awards and more than 35 ADDY and AIGA awards. The agency is a four-time Louisville Business First Fast 50 honoree and was named one of the 2026 Best Places to Work in Kentucky.

To learn more about its outcome-based programs, visit RedTag Programs

About RedTag

RedTag is an independent, strategy-first marketing agency based in Louisville, Kentucky. Established in 2008, the agency starts every engagement by understanding the goal before recommending tactics. With a foundation rooted in discovery, RedTag delivers full-scale marketing campaigns built around each client’s business goals. RedTag serves organizations across hospitality, sports, agriculture, government, retail and consumer packaged goods. Learn more at redtag.agency.

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SOURCE RED TAG LLC

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