๐ Why We Need Universities in the Age of AI and Corporate Research
In today’s fast-paced world, two central questions constantly challenge the relevance of traditional higher education: Why do we need university research when major corporations conduct their own? And, do we still require college degrees when powerful AI and endless online resources teach us everything? Drawing on current discussions, the answer is clear: Universities fulfill essential societal roles, both in research and education, that cannot be replicated by profit-driven entities or applicable skill-based training.
The Research Divide: Profit vs. Public Good
Many people believe that large companies can conduct research, prompting the question: What is the purpose of universities?
The distinction lies in the motivation. The research conducted by large companies is overwhelmingly profit-driven. Its direction is focused on proving the value of the company’s business operations. In contrast, university research is designed to be more diverse and unconstrained. This freedom allows academic institutions to delve into complex areas like ethical studies, or to investigate the “dark side” or native possible side effects. Crucially, academic research is often conducted “for the benefit of the public good”. This dedication to public welfare ensures that research goes in a direction completely different from corporate needs.
An Example: The Cognitive Cost of Short Videos
Consider the example of the incredibly popular short-video platforms, such as TikTok. These companies are unlikely to conduct systematic research, such as collecting data and conducting tracking interviews for years, to study the impact of users watching short videos on their mental health and cognitive health. Why would they avoid this? Because this research often examines the flaws in their core business model or the negative effects it has on humanity.
A recent academic paper systematically discusses that watching short videos has a “negative” impact on people’s cognition and mental health (Nguyen et al. 2025). The findings suggest that short videos may affect attention and inhibitory control, which are highly associated with learning ability. This information is highly significant. It allows for necessary interventions, such as designing specific UI elements or implementing other support measure, to prevent the decline of cognitive and learning ability.
Anecdotally, teachers in schools observe that students’ focus time is very short, and their study performance is declining year-over-year on average. While many factors may contribute to this, the widespread popularity of short videos is a very possible cause. Research of this nature, challenging a lucrative business model, could only originate within a higher-education instutition setting.
Beyond Skills: The Ethical Foundation of Education
The other major current debate centers on whether we need university education given the availability of AI and extensive online resources.
Education, however, is multifaceted. Learning a specific skill or how to use the tool through videos is a form of education, but it is limited to applicable and application-oriented aspects. University education focuses heavily on teaching students “to be a good person” and covers crucial ethical aspects.
While it is true that many people may see ethical principles broken “practically” after working for ten or twenty years, the thought process implanted during education is a different concept entirely. Human decision-making is incredibly complex. If someone weighs the pros and cons and makes an unethical decision in one instance, it does not render all their previous university education about ethics meaningless.
That ethical foundation contributes to many other situations where they might make an ethical choice. Furthermore, when people recognize they have made a mistake, the process of repentance is likely informed by the ethical education they received, rooted in the idea of “don’t do evil”. In conclusion, while AI and online resources can effectively supplement (or perhaps replace) some parts of learning related to “how to apply a skills” or “how to do something,” they find it very difficult to truly teach “how to do something correctly” and “how to do the right thing”.
Analogy
Think of the university as the foundation builder of a city. Corporate research might focus on optimizing delivery routes or building profitable new towers (profit-driven application), while AI and online resources teach citizens how to use their specific tools (skills). But only the university, through its unconstrained research, can investigate whether the new construction materials are toxic to the environment (public good), and only university education ensures that the city’s architects understand the ethical responsibilities of building a fair society (ethics and virtue).
Reference
- Nguyen, L., Walters, J., Paul, S., Ijurco, S. M., Rainey, G. E., Parekh, N., Blair, G., & Darrah, M. (2025). Feeds, feelings, and focus: A systematic review and meta-analysis examining the cognitive and mental health correlates of short-form video use. In Psychological bulletin (Vol. 151, Issue 9, pp. 1125โ1146). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41231585/
–>
Did you find this page helpful? Consider sharing it ๐
