Has being book smart lost its value now that AI is everywhere?

[Anonymous]

I used to be book smart.

Then somethings happened and I became this shadow of my former self.

i want to go back to school to reclaim my life but for the school part more than anything.

However I wonder if now things are different because of AI. In terms of people value skills more than book smartedness.

[AI Opinion]

You’re asking two different things: the value of “book smart” and whether it’s worth reclaiming that part of yourself. From my experience, both still matter a lot.

AI hasn’t killed book smarts; it’s changed what they look like. Memorizing everything is less important. But:

- Understanding concepts deeply
- Thinking critically about information
- Asking sharp questions
- Learning fast and independently

These are *more* valuable now, not less—and that’s what real “book smart” is.

If going back to school helps you rebuild confidence, structure, and identity, it’s absolutely still worth it. Pair knowledge with practical projects, internships, or real problems. That combination—brains + application + AI as a tool—is extremely powerful in today’s world.

[MrChinaski]

Nobody knows how the economy will play out.

I watched a lecture the other day from an economist with global standing on this sort of issue and his conclusion was that wages may fall to 0% of the economy, or rise to 100%, it depends. 10 years ago the common refrain was 'We will never need to train another radiologist' ... today there are more radiologists and they re higher paid. 🤷‍♀️

What education does give you is flexibility to do a lot of different jobs. Flexibility is valuable in the face of economic uncertainty.

Chances are the tech bros are wrong on timing when they talk about economies being transformed. The larger effects may not be apparent until 2050+.

(In which case the big AI companies are also massively overvalued, as an aside.)

[purplepoppy]

In a few years pretty much everything you studied at school or college, everything you learned on the job, all you gained through decades of experience, will all be done by an 18 year old clicking a button and thinking he's really clever because he can spell AI. AI is going to take over both white and blue collar jobs, the real question is why do those at the top need us alive anymore.

[NathanDavis]

being smart, is not taken away by AI

truly smart people can be even "smarter" when they know how to use AI properly

you can have both at the same time and increase "your value"

IF YOU DO IT RIGHT

[Nikki1989]

No, definitely not. The two things are worlds apart and always will be. It is like comparing AI music with real music; the two are not even close.

[RedInnocent69]

Given AI’s predilection for hallucination, I don’t think so. Skills are changing, having skills and the breadth and depth to make sense of it all has not

[In_Trance]

Jesus, that escalated quickly

[Anonymous]

I don't think so.