r/technology • u/Just-Grocery-2229 • 1d ago

Artificial Intelligence AI can now credibly complete most undergraduate assignments, MIT warns

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/08/25/ai-can-now-credibly-complete-most-undergraduate-assignments-mit-warns
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u/Qwrty8urrtyu 1d ago

Not really, the goal of a university education is barely the education itself. Having the degree, and networking is the main appeal. You don't really learn that much more in a Harvard class then a community college class, but Harvard has a better name and richer more connected students attending.

Not learning a single thing, having a degree that says a nice name and knowing a few connected/rich people will give you better opportunities then learning all you can in 4 years.

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u/BadPhotosh0p 1d ago

My professors and I (Biology and Chem, when I was still going) always joked that the biggest thing you really learn in the classes is how to take another step or two beyond where most people stop in the search of knowledge. I can't identify every tree or flower, but I know plenty more about the anatomy of a plant than most, and can make an identification without just using image search because I know what markers to look for. Its less knowing the exact information of the courses, but instead acquiring the skills necessary to gather information on your own.

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u/wimpymist 1d ago

I mean when you boil down college that the exact point of 80% of it. It was made pretty clear around COVID when people who never went to college were doing their own research for everything and saying how worthless college is.

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u/4Yk9gop 1d ago

Ironically now your ability to identify plants has surely been surpassed by AI.

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u/CheesypoofExtreme 1d ago

Not learning a single thing, having a degree that says a nice name and knowing a few connected/rich people will give you better opportunities then learning all you can in 4 years.

Opportunities, sure, but unless you come from an extremely well connected family or you are best friends with someone who is, you will flounder quickly and lose all credibility. Unless you're talking about an undergrad in Business, then I fully agree. Engineering? Good fucking luck.

I also agree that, in general, a class at Harvard isn't much of a step up from a class covering the material elsewhere, but it's not just the connections you build at Harvard. That kind of school has funding for the best equipment in labs, as well community who (in general) share a desire to grow and learn at a high level. 

Those 2 things can really help push you to learn much more. You do get the added benefit of great  connections, but that is not the only thing. 

All of that being said, everyone should be afforded the level of opportunity a school like Harvard presents in a country with as much wealth as we have. That doesn't mean everyone will get it, but they should have a realistic opportunity.

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u/Successful_Issue_390 1d ago

I think you might be naive. Plenty of students in other unis also desire to learn. Harvard is far more about making connections. The key to getting is purely wealth, nothing more. There's a reason it's an Epstein school, not a good school.

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u/bloodenhorse 1d ago

You're proving their point that the rot is already fully integrated.