Former Google AI executive Jad Tarifi, who helped build the company’s first generative AI team, says young people may be wasting years pursuing long academic degrees as artificial intelligence evolves faster than higher education can keep up.

Speaking to Business Insider, Tarifi argued that programs such as PhDs, medical, and law degrees take so long to complete that AI could surpass much of the required expertise by the time students graduate.

“AI itself is going to be gone by the time you finish a PhD. Even things like applying AI to robotics will be solved by then,” Tarifi said.

Tarifi, who earned his own PhD in AI in 2012, believes students today would benefit more from focusing on niche areas where AI intersects with other fields, such as biology, or by developing skills outside of traditional academia.

He also told Fortune that higher education is “on the verge of becoming obsolete,” stressing that success in the AI-driven future will rely less on collecting degrees and more on cultivating creativity, emotional intelligence, and strong human connections.

AI’s Disruption of Traditional Education

Tarifi’s warning comes as other tech leaders voice similar concerns. Mark Zuckerberg recently said on a podcast that colleges may not be preparing students for today’s workforce, while Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, claimed GPT-5 can already perform at a “PhD level” across multiple fields.

Even traditionally prestigious degrees like medicine and law are not immune, Tarifi said, criticizing medical education for relying too heavily on memorization while the field itself risks being reshaped by AI-powered tools.

Jobs Still Lure PhD Talent

Despite these concerns, demand for AI expertise in the private sector remains high. In 2023, about 70% of AI PhD graduates went directly into industry roles, compared with just 20% two decades earlier, according to MIT.

That shift has raised fears of a “brain drain” from universities, as more students leave academia for lucrative roles at tech firms. One University of Chicago professor noted that some doctoral candidates have dropped out mid-program after receiving six-figure offers from companies like ByteDance.

Still, Tarifi’s message is clear: Gen Z may need to rethink the value of spending years on traditional degrees in a world where AI is rewriting the rules of expertise.

📷 Image Source: Google | Image Credit: Respective Owner