Rajat Suri, the Indian-origin co-founder of companies like Lyft and Presto, has sparked a debate online by claiming that a college education is becoming increasingly redundant in the age of AI.
In fact, the millionaire went so far as to say that his children “probably shouldn’t go to college”.
In a post shared on the social media platform X, Suri argued that traditional college may no longer be the best way to acquire the skills and experience young people need. Suri spoke from personal experience — after acquiring dual degrees in Economics and Engineering from the University of Waterloo, he joined the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for a PhD/MBA programme. He claimed, however, that real world work taught him more than any classroom learning. In fact, he eventually ended up dropping out of MIT to focus on entrepreneurship. “Most of what I learned at school was at my work terms at Waterloo.
I worked at 6 different companies there, experienced vastly different work cultures, management styles, team dynamics and business models,” said Suri, who was born in Canada to Indian parents.
“I went to MIT for a PhD / MBA after graduating with 2 degrees at Waterloo, and yet I’m thinking that my kids probably shouldn’t go to college,” Suri said on X. Today, he is of the opinion that his children should probably skip college altogether. Suri said that today, AI can increasingly teach academic skills more effectively than any classroom.
