The Inflation of Intelligence: What Happens to the Value of a Degree When Knowledge Becomes Free?
We are currently witnessing a "Velocity Mismatch." Technology evolves by the day; education evolves by the decade. This essay argues that by the time a syllabus is printed, it is already an artifact. We are handing out degrees that act as "receipts of attendance" rather than proofs of competence.
I. The Capability Gap:
For centuries, the premise of school was simple: The student is an empty vessel, and the school fills them with skills until they are "capable." A capable student gets a job and an incapable one does not. But today, we face a terrifying new reality. When I look at the assignments my students submit(code, essays, summaries), I am forced to confront a hard truth. The tool is now superior to the user.
If I ask a Class 12 student to write a Python script to analyse a CSV file, they will struggle with syntax errors, logic gaps, and debugging for an hour. If I ask an AI, it generates the perfect code, comments it, and explains the logic in 10 seconds. This is not just a tool, it is a competitor. And right now, the competitor is winning. The average graduate is leaving college with a skill set that is already inferior to a piece of software that costs less then 2000INR a month.
II. The Inflation of "Basic Intelligence":
The second blow is economic. In the past, "knowledge" was a scarce commodity. You paid tuition to access the "experts." Today, high-level intelligence is democratised. It is widely available for free or at a negligible rate. This leads to the Commoditisation of Cognition. If a student spends four years mastering a skill (like syntax memorisation) that an AI can perform for free, the market value of that student is effectively zero. We are witnessing the rapid inflation of "Average Intelligence." When the answer is free, memorisation becomes worthless. Yet, our Board Exams still test nothing but memorisation.
III. Moore’s Law vs. The Academic Calendar:
Why aren't we changing the syllabus? This brings us to the "Velocity Mismatch." Technology moves at the speed of Moore’s Law (doubling every 18 months), but education moves at the speed of bureaucracy.
We recently celebrated the New Education Policy (NEP 2020), a massive update after decades of stagnation. But by the time the textbooks are printed, the teachers are trained, and the policy reaches the classroom, the technology has already changed five times. The future is too dynamic for a centralised authority. We cannot wait for a government circular to tell us what to teach. By the time the circular arrives, the curriculum is already outdated.
IV. The Diploma as a Receipt:
We are currently operating on inertia. We are teaching students to be "average" in a world where "average" is automated. Every year, we hand out millions of degrees. In the post-AI world, these degrees have ceased to be a "Certificate of Competence"; they have become a "Receipt of Attendance." They prove the student paid the fees and sat in the chair. But they do not prove that the student can contribute value in an economy where an AI can do the junior-level work faster, cheaper, and better. A degree that certifies you can "write code" today is like a certificate that says you can "do arithmetic" after the invention of the calculator. It is true, but it is no longer a career.
V. The Ultimatum: Evolve or Expire:
This brings us to a fork in the road. The arrival of AI is not a death sentence for the school; it is an ultimatum.
To the Institutions: The school must evolve from a "Content Delivery System" to a "Human Capability Incubator." If the school continues to test memory in an age of free storage, it will become an irrelevant museum. The syllabus must shift immediately from "How to write code" to "How to architect solutions using code." We must stop banning AI in classrooms and start teaching students how to command it. The goal is no longer to compete with the machine, but to pilot it.
To the Students: However, institutional change is slow. Policies take years; technology takes days. You cannot afford to wait for the circular to arrive. While we push for systemic reform, you must build a Parallel Curriculum. You must treat the school syllabus as the "Minimum Viable Product", it is necessary for the degree, but insufficient for the career. If your school adapts, great. If it doesn't, you must be the one to bridge the gap. You must start learning the skills the syllabus ignores (Critical Synthesis, and Complex Problem Solving) on your own time.
Conclusion The degree is no longer a guarantee of competence; it is merely an entry pass. The real test begins now. In a world where the machine can do the "Average" work for free, the only way to survive is to become exceptional. The question is: Will the school help you get there, or will you have to get there despite the school?