It's going to be a life skill: educators discuss the impact of AI on university (www.theguardian.com)

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s recent comment that graduating today would make him “the luckiest kid in all of history” captures a broader shift educators are seeing: generative AI (sparked by tools like ChatGPT) is reshaping what university study and employability will look like. Experts from the UK’s higher-education scene say the pace of adoption has leapt from outright bans to recognition that AI competence must be taught across curricula. That matters because AI won’t just create new roles — it will reconfigure tasks inside existing jobs, making graduates who can use and critically evaluate AI tools more valuable to employers. Recruiters still prize traditional strengths (math remains highly sought-after), but AI literacy is becoming a baseline skill. Practically, academics urge students to judge universities on AI strategy and cross‑departmental expertise rather than assuming AI belongs only in computer science. Key technical implications include the rise of generative models as ubiquitous productivity tools, the prospect of “AI co‑scientists” and automated research labs, and an emphasis on task augmentation over wholesale job elimination. Advice: learn how AI works and its limits, ask course leaders about integration and support, and prioritize programs that teach durable analytical, communication and tool‑use skills — because being adept with AI is increasingly as essential as reading and writing.