‘Learn to code’ is dead: Gen Z is picking up a wrench

Published August 22, 2026 8:00am ET



Congress is currently locked in an intensive debate over the future of artificial intelligence. Lawmakers are aggressively wrestling with algorithmic censorship, national security threats, and tech sector copyright protections. Committee rooms are filled with industry lobbyists arguing over abstract future risks. Yet Washington is completely missing the foundational labor crisis occurring under its nose.

The upcoming generation of American workers is quietly turning its back on the technology economy.

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