Is the uncertainty of AI reshaping your family’s thoughts about college?

[Anonymous]

With so many articles coming out recently about how AI is likely going to disrupt the nature of work in the next 1-5 years, does it give you pause on spending so much money on college?

My kids are just finishing up their degrees so it’s a moot point for us, but I was wondering if my kids were in high school right now, would I discourage them from spending money on college right now. Basically let the world settled out for a couple of years and then see if it would be better for them to have that $150k vs a public university degree.

How has the speed of AI impacted your thoughts about college?

[Anonymous]

How many of thwese do you need to post? No

[Anonymous]

No.

[Anonymous]

Smart parents will rethink the ROI of a degree in an AI world.

[Anonymous]

There is no better situation to say this cliche thing: no one knows how the future holds.

[Anonymous]

No.

[Anonymous]

A degree is not for a job (merely). When I was diagnosed with late stage cancer I drew upon:
Boethius
Hegel
Frankel
Wisel
De Chardin
Kahneman and Tversky
Even tuned into Simon and Garfunkel my freshman year roommate was obsessed with memorizing that I never caught on in high school (younger parents)

All from my liberal arts degree.

It also insulates you from divorce. See:

In addition, those with a bachelor’s degree or more education (25%) are less likely than those with a high school degree or less (37%) and those with some college education (41%) to have divorced

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/10/16/8-facts-about-divorce-in-the-united-states/#:~:text=Americans%20who%20were%20born%20in,41%25)%20to%20have%20divorced.

[Anonymous]

No.

College has been around since medieval times and my family's been going to college since the late 1800s.

Why would I let rapacious tech bros and their crappy LLMs destroy my faith in the value of becoming a wiser, more introspective, learned person?

[Anonymous]

No. AI is a tool that responds to prompts.

Bad prompts equal bad results and good prompts lead to good results. Critical thinking skills honed in college will produce better prompts engineers.

These prompts engineers will be the value add for companies. So the key is to select majors that will develop/hone relevant skills for the present and future. Same as it has always been.

[Anonymous]

No, because college isn’t trade school.

[Anonymous]

Click bait

No

[Anonymous]

Remember when we were told the internet would give us a 3 day work week?

Also, AI is going to have a dot com moment very soon.

[Anonymous]

Let's say all the doomsday scenarios are true. If the death of a liberal arts education is on the horizon, I sure as heck want my kid to be one of the last to experience it, before human society spirals into the mental dark age. Worth every penny to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's say all the doomsday scenarios are true. If the death of a liberal arts education is on the horizon, I sure as heck want my kid to be one of the last to experience it, before human society spirals into the mental dark age. Worth every penny to me.

A liberal arts education is more likely to survive than areas that are easily automated - CS, accounting, etc.

[Anonymous]

No. Major/concentration? A bit.

Kid at an Ivy- non-STEM. Taking a wide variety if courses, threw in some AI electives.

He is only a sophomore so there is time. He’s already done an internship overseas and has one lined up in Europe this summer.

I also have a HS senior.

College is a no-brainer. We value education, not solely for future employment.

I feel bad for the kids graduating this year with an economy so messed up. My nephew is doing more education- post undergrad. Delay entry into the job market.

I think kids just starting college are positioned to adapt and see the trends.