Immunologist Derya Unutmaz: AI progress means PhD programs should now be cut by at least 80%
TinfoilTricorn · x · 2026-10-26
Immunologist Derya Unutmaz weighed in on a viral clip of an Anthropic employee telling university students their careers won't exist by graduation. Critics called it psychopathic; Unutmaz defended it as "risky intellectual honesty."
He warned nearly two years ago that PhD programs should be cut 50% immediately; based on recent AI advances he now says at least 80%. In his original post he argued that in biology it's better to work as a lab technician for a couple of years mastering wet-lab techniques while delegating the rest to AI — PhD-level AI already exists, AGI is near, and robots will run lab experiments within 5–10 years.
More from AGI Musings
- None of the 11 grand challenges in single-cell science solved since 2020 — Sauers_ · 2026-10-26
- "All roads lead to the end of man": a grim AGI endgame thread — danfaggella · 2026-10-26
- Cybersecurity commentator warns AI-era cyberattacks could cripple global critical infrastructure — realsohamparekh · 2026-10-26
- Palmer Luckey cites Hamilton's 1791 report: anti-automation debates haven't changed in 200 years — ctjlewis · 2026-10-26
- François Fleuret asks: what does a typical day look like post-AI? — francoisfleuret · 2026-10-26
- Tyler Alterman: the conditions for an AI art revolution are set, talent is the blocker — sebpaquet · 2026-10-26