UMD's Ruoshi Liu makes the case for a CS PhD even in the AGI race
songyoupeng · x · 2026-11-09
Responding to the widespread 'don't do a PhD' sentiment, UMD researcher Ruoshi Liu argues it stems from the AGI/RSI race marginalizing academia. If you don't believe in near-term singularity, fundamental breakthroughs still require curiosity-driven academic research; if you do, thinking's value as a production tool fades but its value as human agency, freedom and intellectual pleasure rises. Post links UMD CS's 2026–27 admissions cycle (Dec 4 deadline).
More from AGI Musings
- Hot take: good AI judgment is now the new median reviewer — 3scorciav · 2026-11-09
- Economist: AI's academic productivity gains come with equally huge moral hazard — _akpiper · 2026-11-09
- AI insider warns public perception will worsen as frontier progress outpaces intuition — manosaie · 2026-11-09
- NYU paper: AI assistants push retail investors into index funds by 7.6pp — danielrock · 2026-11-09
- Toby Ord: METR's 50% Time Horizon Can Go to Infinity Without Transforming the World — tobyordoxford · 2026-11-09
- 'Argon is a fun model to think with': an AI's eerie first-person riff on reading and death — aiamblichus · 2026-11-09