AI Is Making the Summer Internship Experience Even Worse

Katelyn Watterson says she owes her career to a summer internship. As a student at American University, Watterson got to spend a summer working for a high-end beauty brand in New York City. Almost two decades later, she still recalls her boss offering her a full-time job postgraduation over drinks at the Plaza Hotel. She went on to build a career in marketing before starting her own agency, Fifty Six, in late 2020, where, at times, she managed as many as eight interns of her own.

Watterson enjoyed mentoring them and feeling like she was opening doors for the next ...