Overview

• Jad Tarifi, who founded Google’s first generative AI team and now leads Integral AI, argues that long programs risk irrelevance because AI capabilities advance faster than university curricula.
• Tarifi singles out law and medicine as especially vulnerable and says even PhDs — including in AI — may not pay off, urging students to build unique perspectives and interpersonal skills or pursue niche AI-adjacent fields.
• A Merkur report cites an Indeed survey finding 51% of Gen Z consider a degree a waste of money, while New York Fed data show unemployment of 6.1% for recent computer science graduates and 7.5% in computer engineering.
• University of Chicago’s Henry Hoffmann notes more doctoral candidates are leaving academia for better-paid private-sector roles, a trend observers say could reshape research pipelines.
• Start-up founder Annika von Mutius calls for curriculum overhaul with more dual studies and practical training, as experts such as Sandra Navidi highlight Germany’s high automation potential and relatively slow AI adoption compared with the U.S.