Academic institutions are actively reshaping higher education around artificial intelligence, with San Diego State University adding the first AI degree to the California State University system last fall, while nearly half of U.S. college students consider changing their majors due to AI's potential impact on job security. Axios reported that a new San Diego State University study, surveying over 94,000 students, faculty, and staff across 22 California State University campuses, found that nearly every respondent had used AI. This study, considered the largest look at artificial intelligence in higher education to date, reveals a pervasive institutional push towards AI integration.
Academic Elite's AI Push
Most students, according to the SDSU-led study, feel the technology has positively affected learning and many desire more formal training. The majority of students also believe AI will be essential to most professions and will play a significant role in their careers, yet they are simultaneously concerned about its impact on job security. Last year, the California State University system rolled out a custom educational ChatGPT at all its campuses, granting California college students access to free AI training and resources. Beyond San Diego State, UC San Diego students can now major in AI, and an AI master's degree is available at the University of San Diego. This rapid institutional embrace of AI, often in collaboration with corporate tech interests, signals a top-down transformation of the educational landscape, preparing students for a post-national economic order where traditional skills may be rendered obsolete.
The Cost to the Native Working Class
AI is actively determining the studies U.S. college students pursue, with nearly half indicating they have thought at least a fair amount about changing their major or studies because of the technology’s potential impact on the job market or specific industries. Polling from Lumina Foundation and Gallup shows 14% of currently enrolled college students have thought “a great deal” and 33% have thought “a “fair amount” about altering their academic paths. These concerns are notably higher among male students, at 60%, compared to female students, at 38%. Students in technology fields (70%) and vocational fields (71%) show higher rates of considering changes than those in business (54%), humanities (54%), and engineering (52%). A significant 16% of students have already changed their major due to AI’s anticipated impact, illustrating a direct economic cost to the native working class as they are forced to adapt to a rapidly shifting labor market dictated by technological advancements.
Popular Resistance Emerges
Despite the uneven approaches among colleges, with some hesitant and others fully committed, students across campuses are embracing AI. However, a notable counter-movement exists: CSU’s ChatGPT contract is set to expire in July, and an online petition with more than 3,400 signatures calls for the university system to cancel it and “invest in humans.” This popular resistance highlights a demand for policies that prioritize human capital and traditional educational values over the wholesale adoption of AI technologies. The article, written by Kate Murphy and Avery Lotz, appeared 16 hours ago in Axios San Diego.