The Educated Edge: AI Makes Higher Education Matter More, Not Less (Part 1)

Is college still worth it if AI can write the essay?

Welcome to The Educated Edge, a new series with one mission: to show that higher education matters more in the age of AI, not less.

It's written for two groups: 1. Students and recent graduates who doubt college and worry about work 2. Professors and advisers who teach them, but rarely see how AI is used inside a company

THE REAL QUESTION

The cost worry is real. A 2017 study of public colleges found tuition rose as states cut their funding. That price tag says nothing about the value of the learning.

However, the value has moved. Picture a budget meeting. AI drafted the summary in seconds. Then a manager asks why marketing spend jumped 20%. The draft can't answer. The analyst who understands the business can.

The real return on an education, then, is capability, not just a credential. Economists have described college that way for decades.

WHY THE SERIES

I'm a finance professional with almost 30 years in the workforce. I've built a team around AI, and it's now more productive than my previous teams, in less time. But more important for this series, I'm a father of four Gen Zers. I want to give this generation hope.

So I ask one thing: let's set aside, for now, the very important discussion of how much energy and resources AI companies consume. I don't want to throw out the baby with the bathwater. We can take up that issue in another series.

I'll release these posts often, because this information is critical right now. Each one takes a skill college builds and shows where it shows up in AI-assisted work.

Overall, AI doesn't make an educated mind less valuable. It makes it the whole job.

If you found this helpful, give it a like and share it with someone who needs it.

Coming soon: AI Under the Hood, my companion series on how AI actually works.

Next up, Part 2: what AI actually does at work, and what it still can't.

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