Nearly half of U.S. college students are considering changing their majors due to concerns that artificial intelligence could replace their jobs.
According to The Hill on April 12, citing a joint survey conducted in October last year by the Lumina Foundation and Gallup, 47% of respondents said they had considered changing their majors “very much” or “quite a bit” due to concerns about AI. Another 16% said they had actually changed their majors.
Men, associate degree students, and those studying technical, vocational, and humanities fields were more likely to consider switching majors.
Students in healthcare and natural sciences were the least likely to consider changing majors.
Concerns about job loss due to AI are not unfounded. Researchers at Tufts University projected that 6% of all jobs could be affected by AI within the next two to five years.
Among industries, information-related sectors (18%), finance and insurance (16%), and professional, scientific, and technical services (16%) were identified as having the highest risk of displacement.
Gallup said that in occupations considered highly vulnerable to AI, employment among workers aged 22 to 25 is expected to decline by about 16% compared to older workers between 2022 and 2025.
While students recognize concerns about AI replacing jobs, universities are struggling to keep up with the changes and challenges brought by AI.
Restrictions on AI use are one example. In the survey, 42% of students said their schools do not encourage AI use, while 11% said their institutions have completely banned it.
Roosevelt Montás, a professor at Bard College, said it is inconsistent for schools to tell students that AI will reshape their careers while also telling them not to use it.
Alex Kotran, CEO of the nonprofit AI Education Project, said the current education system is failing to provide meaningful advice and to help students feel prepared, adding that the situation is “almost unacceptable.”