Colin Gabler writes that artificial intelligence will transform, rather than eliminate, the value of a college degree. He argues that as AI makes information access and routine skill acquisition easier, higher education’s core value will shift toward developing students’ capacity to form and defend their own judgments and reasoning. Gabler contends that colleges must deliberately build “developmental friction” into coursework so students learn to explain their thinking and take responsibility for their conclusions, rather than simply producing polished output.
