"The End of the Academic Meritocracy"
The future will not be a competition among humans but against AI.
In such a competitive society, there may be no place left for humans.
It’s a terrifying thought.
The "QS World University Rankings 2025" has been announced.
MIT in the U.S. ranked first, Harvard, also well-known in Japan, came in fourth, the University of Tokyo was 32nd, and Kyoto University was 50th.
Incidentally, my alma mater Cornell University ranked 16th, New York University was 43rd, and my Japanese alma mater Chuo University, unfortunately, didn't make the list.
On a side note, many of my classmates and seniors from the College of Law at Chuo University have also graduated from American law schools like I did.
For example two of my classmates who became lawyers attended the University of Chicago and Harvard Law School, respectively.
Returning to the topic, for Japanese universities, especially private ones, to aim for higher positions in world rankings, mergers and acquisitions are essential.
Chuo University should seriously consider merging with Meiji University, another prestigious institution within the so-called MARCH group, especially now that the College of Law of Chuo University has moved to Myogadani.
Both universities used to be neighbors in Ochanomizu, and their strengths complement each other: Meiji's strong points are in political science and commerce, while Chuo’s is law.
Combining them and adding medical and pharmaceutical schools would undoubtedly boost their ranking.
The QS World University Rankings, made by the British, predictably include four British universities in the top 10.
This makes the ranking somewhat unreliable.
In today’s world, nobody outside of Britain believes that British universities deserve such high ranks.
Yet, the British cunningly continue to leverage their past glories.
Unlike GDP rankings based on economic indicators, university rankings can be easily manipulated by their British creators.
Japan’s reliance on these rankings suggests it is following in Britain’s footsteps, clinging to past glories but lacking the same shrewdness.
Looking back, I used to care about my alma mater's rank.
But in reality, university rankings are only as credible as their creators and methodologies.
In the working world, academic pedigree and rankings become irrelevant in the face of daily competition.
But this was the competition among humans.
The future will see young people competing not with each other but with AI, leading to a society where humans might have no place.
In a world where AI surpasses the knowledge and expertise that even the brightest humans have taken decades to acquire, humans will be as insignificant as insects (a concept borrowed from the sci-fi novel "The Three-Body Problem").
Just as the industrial revolution displaced workers, the upcoming AI revolution will displace intellectuals.
This truly marks "the end of the academic meritocracy."
In fact, it could signify the "end of human society" itself.
