AI startup founder: 'Consider when studying a program that is too long'

Jad Tarifi, founder of the Generative AI team at Google, advises people to consider pursuing a field with a time-consuming curriculum. In an interview with Business Insider this week, Jad Tarifi, who has since left Google to found the startup Integral AI, argued that in an age of artificial intelligence and rapidly evolving technology, getting an advanced degree in law or medicine could become useless.

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“In the current health system, what you learn in medical school is so outdated and based on memory,” Tarifi said. Pursuing a higher degree, he added, could be the equivalent of “throwing away” years of your life.

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Today, tech companies are offering huge salaries of hundreds of millions of dollars to attract talent. However, Tarifi does not recommend getting a PhD just to cash in on the AI ​​craze. “The AI ​​of today will be gone by the time you finish your PhD,” he explains. “Even things like AI applications to robots will be solved by then. So either go into a specialized field like AI for biology, which is still in its early stages, or don’t go into it.”

Tarifi himself received his PhD in AI from the University of Florida in 2012, when the field was less mainstream. He believes that with the world moving as fast as it is now, people can achieve more outside of school. “I don’t think anyone should do a PhD unless they are really passionate about the field. If you are not sure, you should say ‘no’ and focus on living in this world. You will progress much faster, learn more and adapt better to life’s changes,” he said.

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“In the current health system, what you learn in medical school is so outdated and based on memory,” Tarifi said. Pursuing a higher degree, he added, could be the equivalent of “throwing away” years of your life.

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Today, tech companies are offering huge salaries of hundreds of millions of dollars to attract talent. However, Tarifi does not recommend getting a PhD just to cash in on the AI ​​craze. “The AI ​​of today will be gone by the time you finish your PhD,” he explains. “Even things like AI applications to robots will be solved by then. So either go into a specialized field like AI for biology, which is still in its early stages, or don’t go into it.”

Tarifi himself received his PhD in AI from the University of Florida in 2012, when the field was less mainstream. He believes that with the world moving as fast as it is now, people can achieve more outside of school. “I don’t think anyone should do a PhD unless they are really passionate about the field. If you are not sure, you should say ‘no’ and focus on living in this world. You will progress much faster, learn more and adapt better to life’s changes,” he said.