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Yann LeCun Urges CS Students to Prioritize Math, Physics and Engineering Over Trendy AI Courses

The NYU professor emphasizes durable, reality‑grounded learning to prepare for rapid shifts in artificial intelligence.

Overview

  • LeCun advised focusing on long‑shelf‑life subjects such as mathematics, physics, electrical engineering, signal processing, control theory and optimisation.
  • He cautioned that taking only minimal math in typical CS programs can leave graduates unable to adapt to major technological changes.
  • He clarified he is not telling students to avoid computer science as a major, urging them instead to load up on foundational courses rather than short‑lived tech electives.
  • He maintained that scaling language models trained only on text will not deliver human‑level intelligence, arguing that such systems need far more than text to model reality.
  • He added that core programming proficiency remains essential even as AI tools make coding more efficient.