With the potential for AI to increasingly substitute independent thought, a pressing question becomes even more urgent: what exactly is a university education for? “It creates hours of additional labor,” echoed Danica Savonick, an English professor at the State University of New York Cortland. California State University has joined several of the world’s largest tech companies to “create an AI-powered higher education system”, as the university put it. Clune, the Ohio State professor, said students have become more curious about his flip phone, which he started using after realizing his smartphone was “destroying” his attention. “There’s kind of defeatism, this idea that there’s no stopping technology and resistance is futile, everything will be crushed in its path,” said Clune, the Ohio State professor.

Source: The Guardian March 11, 2026 12:03 UTC