Jad Tarifi, the founder of Google’s first generative AI team, has issued a stark warning: higher education, as we know it, is on the brink of becoming irrelevant. With technology advancing at breakneck speed, Tarifi says traditional academic paths may no longer offer the value they once did—especially for Gen Z.
As young graduates face increasing difficulty securing jobs, many are considering advanced degrees to stand out. But Tarifi argues that’s a mistake. “Students risk throwing away years of their lives,” he told Business Insider, “because by the time they finish a PhD, the technology will have already moved on.”
He noted that even undergraduate degrees have lost much of their value due to the rapid evolution of AI, which is now capable of performing tasks once reserved for highly educated professionals. This shift, he says, is prompting many young people to pursue further education in hopes of unlocking high-paying careers—but that strategy may no longer work.
“AI itself is going to be gone by the time you finish a PhD,” Tarifi said. “Even things like applying AI to robotics will be solved by then.”
Tarifi, who earned his own PhD in AI in 2012—well before the field became mainstream—now questions the relevance of traditional degrees. Instead, he recommends focusing on specialized, evolving intersections like AI and biology—or even skipping formal education altogether.
“Higher education as we know it is on the verge of becoming obsolete,” he told Fortune. “Thriving in the future won’t come from collecting credentials but from cultivating unique perspectives, personal agency, emotional intelligence, and meaningful human connections.”
He added, “I encourage young people to focus on two things: the art of connecting deeply with others, and the inner work of connecting with themselves.”
Tarifi went so far as to question the long-term value of becoming a doctor or lawyer. With AI progressing faster than degree programs can adapt, he warns, students risk investing years in education that may soon be outdated.
“In the current medical system, what you learn in medical school is so outdated and based on memorization,” he told Business Insider. “It just can’t keep up with the pace of technological change.”
Tarifi isn’t alone in sounding the alarm. A growing number of tech leaders are raising concerns that higher education is falling behind the realities of today’s job market.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg echoed similar sentiments in April on the This Past Weekend podcast, saying, “I’m not sure that college is preparing people for the jobs that they need to have today… Maybe not everyone needs to go to college.”
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has also noted the accelerating power of AI, pointing out that GPT-5 performs at a level comparable to a PhD expert in virtually any field.
“Something like GPT-5 would be pretty much unimaginable in any other time in history,” Altman said.
Even Bill Gates has expressed surprise at the speed of AI’s advancement, adding further weight to the idea that the education system may no longer be the best route to future success.
As AI continues to redefine the job market and the skills it values, the traditional pathways to career achievement—like college degrees—are being seriously questioned. And if voices like Tarifi’s are right, the future of education may depend less on diplomas and more on adaptability, creativity, and human connection.
