Traditional degrees may be less important in the age of AI, says the Udacity founder
By Arjay L. Balinbin, Assemble the Editor
MADRID – Traditional university degrees may become less important as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the way people learn and the way employers evaluate talent, according to Udacity founder Sebastian Thrun.
At Wednesday's press conference at the South Summit Madrid 2026, organized jointly by IE University, Mr. Thrun said the increasing accessibility of online learning platforms and AI-enabled tools make demonstrated skills and abilities more valuable than formal academic credentials alone.
“Formal education is at a high level in what you really know and what you can do,” he said.
Mr. Thrun founded the online learning platform Udacity after teaching a massive open online course at Stanford University that attracted more than 160,000 students.
He said technology is increasingly enabling access to information, allowing people to acquire marketable skills outside of traditional educational institutions.
Mr. Thrun, a former vice president of Google, also said that employers are becoming more interested in whether candidates can do a job than where they received their education.
“A degree is a false belief that it is a necessary step in society,” he said.
SHIFT IN LEARNING
The comments of Mr. Thrun comes as AI tools are rapidly changing the way people access information and perform tasks across industries.
He identified Google and YouTube as the biggest educational platforms in the world, saying people today have unprecedented access to information and training resources.
The emergence of generative AI has accelerated that trend by allowing students to receive personalized explanations, instruction, and feedback on demand.
As a result, workers can develop specialized skills without enrolling in traditional degree programs, said Mr. Thrun.
He added that the technological barriers that once limited access to higher education are disappearing.
A motivated student in a remote area can now acquire expertise in fields such as machine learning and software development and compete globally, he said.
Mr. Thrun previously founded Google's X research lab and led the company's self-driving project, which later became Waymo.
WORK
The shift to skills-based hiring may become more prominent as AI changes the structure of the workplace.
Mr. Thrun described the transition from the traditional “pyramid” model, where senior experts supervise a large number of junior employees, to the “diamond” model, where experienced employees use AI tools to perform tasks that previously required teams of analysts or collaborators.
Under such a framework, employers would place more emphasis on practical skills and adaptability than formal qualifications, he said.
“Young people have a little problem,” said Mr. Thrun, noting that AI increases the productivity of senior workers and may reduce the need for certain entry-level jobs.
To stay competitive, employees should actively try out AI tools and integrate them into their daily work, he said.
“You have to be on top of the AI,” he said. “Play with it every day.”
PHILIPPINE CONTEXT
Philippine organizations continue to face a shortage of AI-related talent, according to the Philippine AI Report 2025.
The report said that 57% of organizations cited a shortage of AI-skilled workers as a major barrier to wider adoption of the technology.
The report, which surveyed 175 organizations across multiple industries, also found that while 92% of Philippine organizations used AI in some way last year, most remain in the experimental phase of deployment.
The findings suggest that the demand for AI-related skills is growing faster than the available talent.
It recommended that organizations invest heavily in workforce development and skills development programs to address this gap.
THE FUTURE OF NEWSPAPERS
Despite his criticism of the traditional emphasis on qualifications, Mr. Thrun did not predict the demise of universities.
Instead, he said that institutions that fail to keep up with the demands of the labor market may face pressure as alternative education methods gain confidence.
Universities that often focus on credentialing rather than practical skills may struggle to support their proposition, especially as employers become more open to non-traditional learning styles, he said.
The rise of AI can further accelerate that change by making high-quality educational content widely accessible at little or no cost, he said.
For employees, the implication is that learning can be an ongoing process rather than something that ends in a four-year degree program.
“The more powerful we become as a people with tools, the more we will be asked to make impactful decisions,” said Mr. Thrun.
As AI automates mundane tasks, workers will increasingly be judged on their ability to solve problems, use judgment, and use information effectively, regardless of where they acquired those skills, he added.
