Introduction
AI and careers: a former leader of Google's generative AI warns that law and medical degrees may lose value faster than expected.
As reported in the provided texts, Jad Tarifi, who founded Google's first generative AI team and now leads Integral AI, urges a sober look at long, costly tracks like medicine and law. With AI models advancing rapidly, graduates could face a market that shifts before they finish. Tarifi argues that curricula over-indexed on memorization age poorly, exposing new professionals to faster cycles of change. His message is stark but not fatalistic: explore early-stage niches (for example, AI for biology) or recalibrate toward human capabilities that complement automation, rather than relying solely on traditional degrees.
Context
Who Jad Tarifi is, and why his view matters.
Tarifi, 42, helped lead Google's first generative AI team before founding Integral AI in 2021. In the interview referenced by the texts, he contends that the long timelines and high costs of law and medical degrees collide with AI's pace, eroding expected returns. The claim fits a broader debate on the future of jobs, where even figures like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have hyped model capabilities. Yet the texts also stress that today's AI has performed poorly at lawyering and even worse at doctoring, a reminder to be cautious about linear forecasts.
AI and careers: key claims
The core point: long degrees may chase a moving train.
- Nobody should do a PhD unless truly obsessed with the field
- Law and medical tracks take years and big budgets while AI accelerates
- Medical curricula are described as outdated and heavy on memorization
- Better to target early niches like AI for biology
- Cultivate human capabilities: meditation, social ties, emotional awareness
"In the current medical system, what you learn in medical school is so outdated and based on memorization."
Jad Tarifi
"Either get into something niche like AI for biology... or just don't get into anything at all."
Jad Tarifi
Implications for students and professionals
Read the warning as prudence, not paralysis.
If you're considering law or medicine, weigh time and cost against AI's pace. Tarifi points to early spaces such as computational biology, and to cultivating human skills that resist near-term automation. He also emphasizes an inward compass: meditate, socialize, know yourself emotionally. At the same time, the texts note current AI underperforms in legal and clinical practice, and there is a counter-risk: if progress stalls, physician shortages may worsen. Decisions should balance realistic timelines, flexible plan Bs, and continuous learning aligned with technological change.
Risks and limits
Bold forecasts meet mixed evidence on the ground.
The texts highlight repeated failures of current AI in legal and medical tasks, indicating that full automation is not imminent. Declaring complex degrees "futile" remains a bet: regulation, ethics, professional liability, and data quality matter. Even with fast AI, deep expertise retains value in high-stakes domains. For those proceeding, risk mitigation means updatable specializations, cross-domain skills, and clear-eyed awareness of model limits.
Conclusion
The balance lies between technological ambition and professional realism.
Tarifi's warning on AI and careers is a prompt to choose wisely: seek early niches, avoid long tracks without deep passion, and invest in human strengths. Meanwhile, today's limits of AI in law and medicine argue against assuming an imminent replacement. Flexible planning and ongoing learning remain the most resilient strategies.
FAQ
How do AI and careers affect choosing law or medicine today?
The warning is to weigh timelines and costs against AI's pace. Consider early niches and adaptable skills.
AI and careers: is a PhD in AI still worth it?
Tarifi says only if you're obsessed. Some problems may be solved before you finish a PhD.
Which niches does Tarifi suggest within AI models?
He cites AI for biology as an early-stage and potentially promising area.
Are AI systems ready to replace doctors and lawyers?
The texts say current AI performs poorly in legal practice and even worse in medicine.
AI and careers: which human skills stay strategic?
Emotional awareness, social connection, and reflective capacity remain differentiators.
What if AI progress slows while doctor shortages persist?
If progress stalls, clinician scarcity could deepen with real impacts on patients.