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AI is driving down the price of knowledge – universities have to rethink what they offer
(theconversation.com)
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this post was submitted on 08 Jul 2025
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Universities have not been in the business if monetizing knowledge for decades, if not centuries.
Knowledge has been easy to access for a LONG time. Universities give you access to a well constructed curriculum, competent teachers, and a certificate you actually learnt the material somewhat decently.
American universities are too expensive, yes, but American anything means you pay more and you get less, so singling out universities is missing the forest for a tree (even if arguably one of the biggest of those trees)
Insightful. I think what happened with tuition was that universities were actually undercharging until around 1980, when they realized they could charge a lot more and people would still pay it, so they did. In America there's a prevailing mindset that the economy boomers grew up in was normal, and today's economy is stunted. The economy of the 1950s and 60s was actually an anomalous boom, like a bumper crop. Today's economy is what it would have been decades ago if the business world had risked charging higher prices and paying lower wages back then, instead of waiting for an excuse like COVID. Kind of a harsh realization.
My understanding was that the law was changed in the US so student loans couldn't be wiped by bankruptcy, and the government then increased how much it could loan due to the security. Tuitions rose to meet the new supply.
It is still possible to discharge student loans in bankruptcy in the US. It does require meeting a more stringent test than other unsecured debt for loans that covered tuition specifically, but the large majority of people who seek relief through bankruptcy get it. Last I looked it was more than 90% get at least some relief.
TIL, thank you!