less-wronger-numb89's Shortform

post by less-wronger-numb89 · 2025-04-25T00:47:03.840Z · LW · GW · 6 comments

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comment by less-wronger-numb89 · 2025-04-25T00:47:03.839Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Should i drop uni, because of AI?

>Recently, i've read ai-2027.com and even before that, i was pretty worried about my future. Been considering Yudkowsky's stance, prediction markets on the issue, etc.

>i'm 19, come from an "upper–middle^+" economy EU country, 1st year BSc maths student, planned to do sth with finance or data analysis(maybe masters) after but in the light of the recent ai progress, I now view it as a dead end.

'cause by the time I graduate (~mid/late 2027) i bet there'll be an agi doing my "brain work" faster, better, and cheaper.

>will try to quickly obtain some blue-collar job qualifications, that (for now) seem to not be in the "in-risk-of-ai-replacement" jobs. + many of them seem to have not-so-bad salaries in EU particularly

>maybe emigrate inside EU for a better pay and to be able to legally marry my partner

_____________________

I’m not a top student, haven’t done IMO, which makes me feel less ambitious about CVs and internships as I didn’t actively seek experience in finance this year or before. So i don’t see a clear path into fin-/tech without qualifications right now.

So maybe working ~not-complex job, enjoying life(traveling, partying, doing my human things, being with the partner etc) during the next 2-3 years, before a potential civilizational collapse(or trying to get somewhere, where UBI is more likely) will be a better thing than missing out on social life and generally not-so-enjoying my pretty *hard* studies, with a not so hypothetical potential to just waste those years..

Replies from: baha-z, Kaj_Sotala, less-wronger-numb89
↑ comment by Hopenope (baha-z) · 2025-04-25T09:06:25.086Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

I lived for a while in a failing country with high unemployment. The businesses and jobs that pay well become saturated very quickly. People are less likely to spend money and often delay purchasing new stuff or maintaining their homes. Many jobs exist because we dont have time to do them ourselves, and a significant number of these jobs will just vanish. It is really hard to prepare for a high unemployment rate society.

↑ comment by Kaj_Sotala · 2025-04-25T15:30:55.111Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

This isn't directly answering the question of "should I drop university", but here's something that I wrote to another young person who was asking me what I'd study if I was young and in the beginning of my studies now (machine translated from Finnish in case you wonder why it doesn't sound like my usual voice):

I'd probably aim to study something that genuinely interests me, feels meaningful right away, and could potentially provide a livelihood in the future. A program combining psychology and computer science would still align well with my interests. This time around, I'd try to include more mathematics and statistics coursework, as I've often wished I understood them better for interpreting research papers. These are subjects I've found particularly challenging to learn independently.

Of course, in the future we might be able to ask AI to explain everything, but explanations are more effective when you have solid foundational knowledge to build upon. My main goal would be to enjoy my studies and feel like I'm learning interesting material that's not only fascinating but also broadly applicable and useful long-term. Computer science, psychology, math, and statistics have proven to be exactly that kind of knowledge so far. Even if AI eventually makes these skills less relevant professionally, I'd still have developed my thinking in valuable ways through studying them.

↑ comment by less-wronger-numb89 · 2025-04-25T00:51:27.162Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

or should i go to reddit with those type of questions and LW is generally not the place to talk about life situations?

Replies from: Ruby, shawnghu
↑ comment by Ruby · 2025-04-25T01:09:24.997Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Here is a fine place if you're just making a shortform.

I think it's good for the soul to study, learn, grow, and the time current society gives you to do it at university is pretty great if you make use of it, but also it's possible to do that outside of uni. This is putting aside value for careers, because indeed, with AI is hard to say.

But being 19 (or whatever age really), the frame I'd give is think about where you'll develop most. From a practical standpoint, I'd spend a lot of time trying to do valuable things together with AI. Eventually AI won't need us, but in the meantime symbiosis seems like a guess as how to still generate economic value.

↑ comment by shawnghu · 2025-04-25T01:40:33.735Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

although i think here is fine, in addition you can try the SSC subreddit.

i know we are not all in a position to do this, but maybe if you don't focus too solely on uni as being for your career interests, but also as a way of growing, learning about things you intrinsically enjoy, and enjoying yourself, the conflict will dissolve.

doing this is a decent all-purpose strategy for thriving long-term in life under most AI outcomes (other than, you know, being dead). (If AI turns out to be a flop, great. If AI turns out mid-strength and requiring human symbiosis, qualitative expertise and passion will be at a premium. If AI turns out to replace al human economic value, hopefully you learned something about how to authentically enjoy your life.)