College Majors & The Rise of AI

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah- should be regulated but not going to happen. Not in this country anyway- too polarized. Can’t get people to agree on even basic facts let alone complex players like AI.

I agree. And this is why humanity is doomed. Unregulated AGI will make humans obsolete for the vast majority of things….Enjoy life while you can.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:A programmer with an AI tool is akin to a carpenter working with power tools - they are more efficient and can produce value at a higher rate, translating into higher productivity.

Typically, higher productivity encourages more investment, and more creation.

In other words, programmers will remain, but they will accomplish far more.

I disagree. I have been a programmer for 30 years, taught at two different t20 CS depts……now consulting with one of the big 3….
I’m 100% certain that once we reach AGI there wont be a need for programmers. It is that simple.
Young CS graduates will NOT have jobs for them 5 yrs from now. They wont get the experience they need to be able to oversee an AGI programmer.

95% of CS jobs will be eliminated in less than 7 years. You car take picture of this post….then lets discuss this again in 5 years so I can tell you “I told you so”…..

You type like grandpa's first time on a computer. I don't think you know anything about CS at all, but let me ask, when will we have AGI? You think what we have now is close? Lol.

You can think whatever you want. You dont know me, but if you did, you would think otherwise.
I dont know when we will get to AGI, but it is closer today than yesterday. Anywhere from 3 to 5 years is my opinion. I dont care what anybody here says. I’m closer to this than 99.999999% of the people on this site. I just happen to have a Junior that is trying to decide to what to study in College. This is why I frequent these boards…

I can see what is coming and it is not pretty. We can all put our heads in the sand and it wont change or stop the train. AGI will change everything. At that point, you better be in a senior position with plenty of experience. We will only need 5% of today’s CS workforce. But if you want to convince your kid to study CS, go ahead.

Yes, please share how you're advising your junior.
What majors/careers do you think are worthwhile to pursue given the above?

Sure. These are the programs we are discussing at our house with my son. 1st
8 are in the US, last 4 in the UK.
1. Stanford - Symbolic Systems (CS + Philosophy + Linguistics + Psychology)
2. MIT - BS in Urban Science & Planning with Computer Science
3. Harvard - Joint Concentration: Social Studies + Computer Science
4. Yale - Ethics, Politics & Economics (EP&E) + Cognitive Science
5. Michigan - Double Major: Information Science + Public Policy
6. Carnegie Mellon - Major: Ethics & Technology
- Minor: Human-Computer Interaction
7. Princeton University - Double Major: Digital Humanities + Public Policy
8. Arizona State - BS in Innovation in Society
9. University of Edinburgh
- MA Interdisciplinary Futures with focus in Future Governance (Edinburgh Futures Institute)
10. Cambridge - Human, Social, Political Sciences (HSPS) + AI Ethics Track
11. Oxford - Philosophy, Politics & Economics (PPE) + AI Governance Thesis
12. University of St Andrews - International Relations with Philosophy OR Psychology/Neuroscience with Sustainable Development or Management

How about electrical engineering? Would that be a marketable degree?

Of course! All engineering degrees are marketable presuming it is accredited. The top schools with Engineering are the most likely to provide leadership skills and have a lot of writing requirements making them very versatile hires who can adapt to new technology and most importantly think , learn, and innovate. There is a reason 30% of current fortune 500 CEOs have an engineering degree and that figure will increase. Engineering is marketable in many if not all sectors.

Maybe there is a reason that 70% of fortune 500 CEOS don't have an engineering degree. The numbers are over 2:1 against a leader haveing an engineering degree based on your analysis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/technology/ai-jobs-college-graduates.html?unlocked_article_code=1.LE8.ZED-.cmQY1MiJHMF5&smid=url-share

And so it begins

I don’t understand any majors in that list PP gave. Maybe because I’m not in tech. Anyway, I hope this next generation can adapt through this.

Oh well….I was “talked to” in this article….Clearly a lot of people are not understanding what I was saying about CS courses on its own. Whenever I have more time I will try to be more helpful in describing each one of those I mentioned previously….

NP here. Thank you! I’d love to hear more about the programs you mentioned above (US colleges). DC is thinking similarly.

I’d be curious to hear if there are any other schools your DC is considering - especially any others that are not T20.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I wonder if majoring in AI now is similar to majoring in the internet in 1997

Nobody should major in AI. Worthless. But whatever major you decide to stick with, STEM or Humanities, you do need some coursework in understanding the contexts for AI including cognitive science.

+1
On the theory side, this is coursework in mathematics, cognitive science, theoretical computer science, philosophy, and linguistics. It may also be helpful to take courses in the social sciences to understand their impact.

This. Including some public policy and ethics classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A programmer with an AI tool is akin to a carpenter working with power tools - they are more efficient and can produce value at a higher rate, translating into higher productivity.

Typically, higher productivity encourages more investment, and more creation.

In other words, programmers will remain, but they will accomplish far more.

I disagree. I have been a programmer for 30 years, taught at two different t20 CS depts……now consulting with one of the big 3….
I’m 100% certain that once we reach AGI there wont be a need for programmers. It is that simple.
Young CS graduates will NOT have jobs for them 5 yrs from now. They wont get the experience they need to be able to oversee an AGI programmer.

95% of CS jobs will be eliminated in less than 7 years. You car take picture of this post….then lets discuss this again in 5 years so I can tell you “I told you so”…..

Wrong.

A CS degree is more than coding.

Sorry bud…you dont need to teach me what a CS degree is…..been teaching at some of the TOP CS depts for years….
Of course it is more than coding. But it doesnt change the fact that once we reach AGI, there wont be a need for an INEXPERIENCED CS graduate….those jobs will be gone whether you like it or not. The transition will be hard. It will start with the kids right out of college first and with time, even guys in my position will be obsolete.
But go head and put your head in the sand as you send your kids to study CS…..let’s have this conversation again in 2030….

Husband has had his own tech business and worked for Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. Disagrees with you. Thinks AI is overblown. But anyway considering that AI could theoretically do the majority of white collar jobs, why not have a degree working with it? Our kid is already in her CS program. But that’s just undergrad. She doesn’t have to become a programmer. Even if she stays in the tech field, there are lots of other tech related jobs where programming knowledge is useful but not used all the time.

As a former high school teacher, god knows I’d never want her to do that. My father is a retired doctor and didn’t encourage her to go into medicine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A programmer with an AI tool is akin to a carpenter working with power tools - they are more efficient and can produce value at a higher rate, translating into higher productivity.

Typically, higher productivity encourages more investment, and more creation.

In other words, programmers will remain, but they will accomplish far more.

I disagree. I have been a programmer for 30 years, taught at two different t20 CS depts……now consulting with one of the big 3….
I’m 100% certain that once we reach AGI there wont be a need for programmers. It is that simple.
Young CS graduates will NOT have jobs for them 5 yrs from now. They wont get the experience they need to be able to oversee an AGI programmer.

95% of CS jobs will be eliminated in less than 7 years. You car take picture of this post….then lets discuss this again in 5 years so I can tell you “I told you so”…..

Wrong.

A CS degree is more than coding.

Sorry bud…you dont need to teach me what a CS degree is…..been teaching at some of the TOP CS depts for years….
Of course it is more than coding. But it doesnt change the fact that once we reach AGI, there wont be a need for an INEXPERIENCED CS graduate….those jobs will be gone whether you like it or not. The transition will be hard. It will start with the kids right out of college first and with time, even guys in my position will be obsolete.
But go head and put your head in the sand as you send your kids to study CS…..let’s have this conversation again in 2030….

Husband has had his own tech business and worked for Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. Disagrees with you. Thinks AI is overblown. But anyway considering that AI could theoretically do the majority of white collar jobs, why not have a degree working with it? Our kid is already in her CS program. But that’s just undergrad. She doesn’t have to become a programmer. Even if she stays in the tech field, there are lots of other tech related jobs where programming knowledge is useful but not used all the time.

As a former high school teacher, god knows I’d never want her to do that. My father is a retired doctor and didn’t encourage her to go into medicine.

+1

There are a multitude of tech related jobs out there for CS majors.

Because of AI, a CS major is bad but one should major in all of these fluffy humanities majors instead? But STILL have a CS background or minor?

Yeah, right.