Khoury News
Q&A: With AI turning the tech world upside down, is a CS degree still worth it?
By necessity, computer science colleges must adapt to the rapid technological change that they help to accelerate. In AI, they've found their latest — and perhaps greatest — challenge.
Although human history is full of tectonic technological advances, artificial intelligence stands apart — so widespread that even the field that created AI is feeling the earthquake.
Khoury News sat down with Dean Elizabeth Mynatt to discuss the opportunities and challenges of the AI boom, and what universities have to offer students pursuing careers in tech.
There are fears that AI will reduce the number of tech jobs, especially for entry-level programmers. Do you feel this will be the case?
Absolutely not. Advances in automation inevitably raise our expectations for productivity, creativity, and how computing systems can support a vast range of human activity. Students entering the field today will be on the ground floor of this next wave of technology expansion.
So while we are in a crazy period of transition, workers and companies will respond by doing more, moving faster, and creating software and services that we can barely imagine. The world will still need versatile, capable programmers who can harness AI in a growing number of industries. In many ways, there has never been a better time to join the CS field!
You’ve talked about this new era as an exciting time to study computer science. What AI applications strike you as most promising?
Three key areas come to mind: discovery, complexity, and personalization.
We are just tapping into AI’s role in discovery — for example, drug discovery in pharmaceutical design. As we leverage AI horsepower to exhaustively search possibilities, then combine it with robotics to manipulate physical materials, scientific fields will explode with waves of discovery. Our role is to enable those revolutions.
The software and the computational systems that run our world have been limited by the level of complexity that humans can safely manage. AI tools can raise the complexity ceiling in ways we are just beginning to envision. I’m not talking about vibe coding or even the force multiplier of faster coding; I’m talking about raising the bar substantially for what software systems will achieve across the world. I’m envious of students starting on the ground floor of this new generation of computer science.
The throughline of my career has been to create personalized health services, and these visions are now within our reach. I’m less interested in AI that pretends to be human than I am in AI that can truly understand human beings — not sycophantic chatbots, but systems that learn to provide insightful, personalized care. We still have a long way to go but generative AI is offering new, powerful paths to achieve this vision.
You’ve described the ideal approach to AI education as “crutch to coach to colleague.” What does that look like in practice?
Just as learning to ride a bike requires taking off the training wheels, we must ensure that students learn core computing concepts rather than using AI as a crutch. At Khoury College, our introductory classes carefully guide students on when they should use AI and when they should set it aside to master the field’s foundations.
READ: Khoury College faculty on when — and when not — to use AI in the classroom
Students can then begin to harness AI as a powerful coach to help them try out new ideas, hone their performance, and produce incredible work. Our faculty can combine with AI coaches to collaboratively guide our students.
And finally, as students grow their skills, they can work with AI, not just as a supervisor — that’s boring — but as an inspired and tireless collaborator. By experiencing hybrid human–AI development teams in course projects and co-ops, students will be ready to succeed in a tech industry that is rapidly moving toward this hybrid model.
What about Khoury College allows it to adapt to — and prepare students for — an AI-driven world?
Khoury students grapple not only with what AI can do, but what it should do. We integrate ethical reasoning throughout our projects and assignments — whether on algorithms, software, security, or anything else — to push students to think critically about the design decisions they’ll make in industry.
In a new AI world with few black-and-white answers, these are not binary decisions. They are layered, challenging questions about the systems we build, the data that fuels them, and who informs those design decisions. As such, our mission is to educate future leaders of the field, to reach beyond technical skills and achieve the higher level of critical thinking needed to navigate this new terrain.
Additionally, Khoury College offers options for both undergraduate and graduate students to incorporate AI skills into their larger pursuits. Undergraduates can choose from one of 60 combined majors, where they can blend AI with health care, biology, business, economics, and many other disciplines. Master’s students can gain additional expertise in cutting-edge AI topics, with our PlusOne accelerated programs a popular option.
Khoury researchers are studying and advancing AI in myriad ways. How can students benefit from — and participate in — these efforts?
My advice to students is to visualize AI as a massive wave; it’s much better to ride that wave than to feel it crashing down on you. By getting involved in creating the next generation of AI capabilities and services, you can chart your own career and the future of the field at the same time!
Many Khoury students engage in AI research, whether by working as co-ops in our many labs, interning with our research partners, or completing capstones and independent projects. Like AI itself, these opportunities are constantly evolving and multiplying.
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