Podcast Summary: Solving the College AI Crisis

Podcast: Solutions with Henry Blodget
Host: Henry Blodget (Vox Media Podcast Network)
Guest: Jeff Selingo, Higher Education Journalist & Author
Date: February 9, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Henry Blodget sits down with Jeff Selingo, a veteran education journalist, to dissect the so-called "Campus AI Crisis": how colleges are responding (or failing to respond) to the explosion of artificial intelligence, what it means for students’ futures, and how institutions must adapt. Selingo offers a pragmatic, sometimes provocative take on the evolving purpose of college, the realities of the job market, and practical strategies for preparing students for an AI-driven world.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. AI’s Disruptive Impact on Entry-Level Jobs (02:38–05:07)

• AI Has Reshaped the Internship & Entry-Level Landscape:
  AI has automated many tasks once handled by interns and early-career hires, causing organizations to reduce headcounts at the lowest rungs.

• Quote (03:32):
  "To invest in AI, so it's not necessarily AI replacing workers, but to have the capital to invest in AI, they're reducing headcount. And the first headcount you usually reduce are those entry level workers who, as many people who hire tell me, just take a while to pay off." —Jeff Selingo

• Graduates Are Facing New Pressures:
  Even computer science majors—formerly among the most in-demand—now experience some of the highest unemployment rates (03:52).

2. Standing Out in an AI-Driven Market (05:07–06:28)

• Differentiators Matter:
  Internships remain valuable but are harder to get. Additional skills, certifications, and hands-on projects are crucial to securing employment.
• Quote (06:28):
  “You can't just go to college, go to class, get the degree and hope for the job. Right?" —Henry Blodget

3. What Is College For? Rethinking the Social Contract (07:07–09:59)

• College as Economic Investment:
  Selingo argues most students (and especially parents facing six-figure price tags) see college as job preparation first and foremost.

• The Academic Divide:
  Faculty often resist this utilitarian view, preferring to focus on the transformative, intellectual, and civic missions of higher education.

• Colleges & Employers Need to Collaborate:
  Improved integration between colleges and employers—in both curriculum and experiential learning—could bridge the work/education gap.

4. Selecting a College in the Age of AI (11:18–14:28)

• Be Strategic, Not Status-Seeking:
  Too many families prioritize name-brand colleges over fit and practical experience. The reality: mid-ranked schools focused on student outcomes may serve students better in the modern market.

• Agency Matters:
  Students need to take career planning into their own hands, starting earlier (in high school if possible), focusing on experience and skill acquisition rather than coasting on prestige.

• Quote (14:28):
  “One of the reasons career decision-making is so difficult is we don't actually have to make any decisions until we graduate from college. ...You think that somebody else is driving the train, and then suddenly you're out and you have to choose your entire life, which is incredibly difficult." —Henry Blodget

5. How Colleges Are Handling AI: Crisis, Confusion, and Missed Opportunities (18:11–22:13)

• Initial Reactions Were to Police, Not Embrace:
  Most institutions viewed AI mainly as a cheating risk, leading to inconsistent policies and missed opportunities for integration in teaching and learning.

• Faculty-Led Approach Creates Inequity:
  Without centralized guidance, experiences with AI vary widely from class to class and discipline to discipline.

• Colleges Are Slow to Change:
  University culture is resistant to transformation—mirroring, for Selingo, the way academia fumbled the arrival of the Internet.

• Quote (20:42):
  “The problem is that you only get to go to college once...college itself didn't prepare me for that world because everybody was like kind of waiting around..." —Jeff Selingo

6. Visions for a Modern College Experience (22:13–26:23)

• Integrative Models Work Best:
  Schools like Northeastern, Georgia Tech, and University of Cincinnati integrate co-ops and work experience into the academic calendar.

• Hands-On Learning Is Crucial:
  Real-world experience—campus jobs, project management, and even running campus businesses—prepares students for roles that AI can’t easily fill.

• The Problem of the "Murky Middle":
  Prestigious and very affordable colleges still offer value, but the majority in the middle must evolve or risk obsolescence.

7. What Employers Want Now (26:07–30:43)

• Mix of “Hard” and “Human” Skills:
  Employers are seeking both tangible skills (project management, analytics) and discerning, adaptable individuals able to work in teams and solve problems—qualities liberal arts education can nurture if paired with real results.

• Quote (27:51):
  “A lot of that work, you know, deep reading, deep writing, deep thinking, deep conversation, really helps you with those skills that employers want. The problem is ... they don't know how to talk about that in a job interview, and they don't have any proof that they can actually do those things..." —Jeff Selingo

• AI Can Do a Lot, But Not Everything:
  Tools like ChatGPT speed up rote work but don't replace the human judgment, original thinking, or initiative employers still crave.

• Quote (28:27):
  “But teamwork, taking a project from start to finish, hiring and inspiring people, those are all things that AI is not going to be able to." —Jeff Selingo

8. Preparing Students for an AI Future (30:43–35:35)

• Employers Want Graduates with AI Competence:
  Not just technical knowledge, but hands-on experience and a nuanced sense of when and how to use these tools.

• Transparency Is Key:
  Both professors and students often use AI covertly, missing opportunities for open, shared learning.

• University Structure Is a Barrier:
  Faculty autonomy and “departmental silos” make it difficult to coordinate institutional responses to AI challenges.

9. Learning by Doing: Rethinking How and Where Students Gain Expertise (36:49–40:31)

• The Disappearing First Rung:
  With entry-level jobs and internships being automated, colleges may need to provide more real job experiences during school.

• Most Learning Happens Beyond the Lecture Hall:
  Research shows 80–85% of real expertise is built through hands-on work and learning from peers—not professors.

• Quote (39:27):
  “We used to think of, you know, college with job on the side. Now we think of job with college on the side.” —Matt Singelman, via Jeff Selingo

10. Advice for Students, Parents, and Universities (40:31–42:43)

• Selingo’s Guidance to Teens:

  • Use AI tools now; learn from peers how they’re used.
  • College still offers long-term value—more options, higher earnings, flexibility.
  • Don't stress over major, but intentionally seek out complementary skills, experience, or certificates.
  • The goal: emerge as a “triple threat”: background knowledge, specific expertise, and tangible, hands-on learning.
  • Don’t trust the college to do all this for you—take personal responsibility.
  • Whose job is this? Selingo says it’s a shared responsibility: parents, students, colleges, AND employers.

• Quote (42:43):
  “The sooner everybody realizes that the dean of the college is not driving the bus that you are riding on to your future career and in fact you have to be the driver the better in life and everything else.” —Henry Blodget

11. Looking Ahead: What Will College Look Like in 2030? (43:17–47:34)

• Fewer Colleges, More Flexibility:
  Demographics and economics mean closures are coming; remaining schools must offer more pathways, more integration with work, and possibly pivot to serve adult learners as well.

• Practical Internships Year-Round:
  The traditional summer internship may fade; more students will blend work and study during the school year.

• Individualized Learning Is the Future, but Tradition Slows Progress:
  While the potential for AI-powered, personalized education is clear—akin to “every student with their own Vulcan-style AI teacher” (45:35)—entrenched interests, cost structures, and institutional resistance challenge rapid change.

• Quote (46:03):
  “I'm skeptical, I'm hopeful. But I'm also skeptical because...higher education...is incredibly reluctant to change. It's incredibly risk averse.” —Jeff Selingo

• Corporate Training May Lead the Way:
  Enterprise upskilling and standardized training are ripe for AI-driven, individualized learning—possibly outpacing the academy.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On AI in the Campus Experience:
  “They have essentially buried their head in the sand...They saw AI as a cheating tool that needed to be controlled instead of how do we figure out how to use this as a team, a teaching and learning tool, and how do we prepare our students for the world after college?” —Jeff Selingo (18:19)

• On the Dangers of Incrementalism:
  “If I were leading a college right now, I would just press pause on a lot of things, run like a really fast sprint project on a strategy around AI... Because right now what's happening is there's all these incremental steps, or they're doing what Ohio State did, making a big announcement, but not...There's not a lot underneath that...” —Jeff Selingo (32:55)

• On the Real Source of Learning:
  “80 to 85% of your learning is either going to come from actually doing it or by your peers, not by a professor at the front of the room.” —Jeff Selingo (40:00)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Impact of AI on Entry-Level Employment: 02:38–06:28
• Purpose of College Today: 07:07–09:59
• Choosing the Right College in an AI Age: 11:18–14:28
• How Colleges Are Handling AI: 18:11–22:13
• Best Institutional Practices—Real-World Education Models: 22:13–26:23
• What Employers Want Now: 26:07–30:43
• Transparency, Silos & Institutional Dysfunction: 30:43–35:35
• Learning by Doing—What's Missing Now?: 36:49–40:31
• Advice for Young People & Parents: 40:31–42:43
• The Next 5–10 Years of College: 43:17–47:34

Conclusion & Forward Look

Selingo makes a compelling case that "college as usual" is no longer sufficient in an AI-transformed workplace. Students should be proactive, seek skills and real-world experience alongside their degree, and not assume the system will prepare them automatically. Colleges that survive and thrive will be those that forge deep links with employers and embed hands-on, lifelong learning into their DNA—even as massive institutional inertia slows the pace of change.

Final thought (47:53):
"It's always external players that push the, you know, the incumbents either out or to change. Again, the incumbents in higher ed, they just are so reluctant and I'm hopeful, but I'm also just skeptical that they will." —Jeff Selingo

For listeners looking for actionable advice:

• Take control of your career path early.
• Seek out real work experience as soon as possible.
• Use and learn about AI tools before graduation.
• Choose colleges intentionally, not just by name.
• Understand that AI is not a threat to jobs per se, but a spur to adapt, specialize, and become a “triple threat” in the workforce.

End of summary. Skip to the highlighted timestamps or quoted sections above for key insights.