Vista Equity Partners CEO Robert Smith urges companies to preserve intern programs despite AI disruption, citing the programs' role in transferring knowledge and optimism to the next generation of technologists.

What happened: Robert Smith, CEO of Vista Equity Partners (a private equity firm overseeing roughly 90 software companies), spoke at Fortune's Brainstorm Tech in Aspen, warning businesses not to eliminate their intern programs as they adopt AI. Smith drew on his own experience as a high school intern at Bell Labs—where he developed a reliability test for semiconductors—to illustrate the lasting value of early-career placements.

Why it matters: Smith acknowledges that AI will deliver a 'massive disruption to the workforce,' but argues that internships remain crucial because each new era of technology builds on the previous one, and young people must be part of that evolution. He frames internships not merely as workforce preparation but as a vehicle for passing on the 'spirit of optimism' that has driven tech forward historically.

What to watch: Smith's framing suggests that as companies restructure around AI and autonomous agents (which he notes perform tasks that aggregate into jobs), the question of whether to preserve talent pipelines for human workers will shape how the technology transition unfolds. His own portfolio of roughly 90 software companies will likely reflect how Vista itself navigates this balance.