When artificial intelligence burst into daily life two or three years ago, fear also arose about its effects on education and the world of work. Of the many unwanted impacts that were mentioned in this regard, in recent days at least two seem to be becoming a reality: There are already universities in the world that are closing courses and faculties, considering them unnecessary due to the massive use of AI, while there are also jobs in important companies that are disappearing, with massive layoffs as a consequence.
The first of these cases, the one that has to do with the educational world, is experiencing its maximum expression in China. Many universities in the Asian giant have announced the closure of several degrees in the midst of a plan to direct efforts towards academic programs where human beings are really needed.
One of the most striking cases is that of the China University of Communication, which during 2025 canceled at least seven degrees, while by 2026 another seven no longer appear in its academic offering. These are part of a total of 16 programs – added specializations – that are no longer offered, most of them related to the field of arts.
The spokesperson for this transformation has been Liao Xiangzhong, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and Party Secretary of China Communication University, who stated that this It is because the future is seen as an era of “division of labor between humans and machines”, which makes educational reform urgent and requires a complete restructuring of classroom teaching.
Liao Xiangzhong said, “The form has changed, the content has changed, and we also need to change our way of thinking. What are the key knowledge points of this course? What are the difficulties? How does it relate to the future? We also need to find solutions and let AI take care of the rest for students to learn.”
Among the missing majors are Economics and International Trade, Sociology, Applied Statistics, Accounting, Education in Political Thought, Optoelectronic Information Science and Engineering, Automation, Film and television production, Comics, New media art, Animation (video game art), Visual communication design (Faculty of Advertising), Music (vocal performance) and Music (instrumental performance).
But this is not the only Chinese university that has begun to implement these changes. Nanchang University said goodbye to eight majors, four of them artistic: Dramatic and Cinematographic Literature, Radio and Television Direction, Animation, Artistic Design, Labor and Social Security, Economic Statistics, Information Security and Medical Imaging Technology.
For its part, Jilin University has been withdrawing arts programs in both 2024 (six) and 2025 (four), while East China Normal University in Shanghai announced at the end of last year that it was suspending three arts programs.
Tongji University announced last September that it would eliminate three arts programs, and China University of Petroleum was more drastic: in its statement it announced that all admissions to art studies are suspended.
To a large extent, the argument has been that The incursion of artificial intelligence into daily life and the world of work makes it necessary for institutions to focus their efforts on training young people in professions and trades. that have viability, that is, that can survive in today’s world, where new technologies can now perform tasks that were previously only done by humans.
And although China is the greatest exponent of this change, artificial intelligence is already generating transformations within universities around the world. There are reports from institutions in Asia, Europe and the United States where, although degrees have not been closed, the decision has been made to reduce the number of admissions in certain programs and increase the offer in others.
Perhaps the most common change has been the transformation of curricula to focus teaching on technology analysis and management skills. This is how Leonardo Gómez, a specialist in new pedagogies, explained it: “Universities are stopping teaching things that artificial intelligence can perfectly do, to now teach how to supervise this technology and how to make the most of it.”
Although the first majors that are disappearing from the academic offerings of some universities are related to the arts, these are not the only ones threatened. Paradoxically, in the world of work, and more specifically in technology companies that develop AI, These are positions in skills that were previously considered “of the future”, such as programming or data analytics, which show greater layoffs.
The most recent case is that of the technology giant Oraclewhich in the last month announced the layoff of at least 30,000 employees around the world, in an effort to reduce its workforce and focus resources on the development of artificial intelligence.
For its part, Anthropicone of the world’s largest AI development companies, noted in a March 2026 report that Computer programmers most susceptible to AI-related job cuts. Customer service representatives, data entry clerks, medical records specialists, market research specialists, and marketing specialists would also have their jobs threatened.
This is evident in cases such as that of Dellwhich reduced its workforce this year by 11,000 people, 10% of its workforce, or that of Goalwhich carried out massive layoffs in its Reality Labs division to make a “transition to artificial intelligence.”
amazon He also prioritized an investment of US$200 billion in AI infrastructure to justify the departure of 16,000 people, in addition to another 14,000 positions that disappeared in October.
According to the specialized firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, AI was the main cause of job cuts across all sectors, accounting for 25% of total layoffs in March in the United States.
Likewise, firms such as Goldman Sachs have estimated that only in the United States Between 6 and 7% of workers are expected to lose their jobs as AI becomes more widespread.
It is not surprising statements like those of Jim Farley, CEO of Ford, who said he expects “literally half” of white-collar jobs to eventually be replaced by AI.
The outlook for this changing world of work influenced by artificial intelligence is uncertain. “In a context where it is not only the arts, but also careers that were believed to be safe that are now threatened by AI, What should be the future of universities?”asks Fernando Carvalho, who advises several institutions in the region in countries such as Chile, Argentina and Peru.
According to the expertthe key is in critical thinking: “This is a skill that is scarce in an environment permeated by AI. In everyday life, but also in any sphere of the working world, it is increasingly common to trust in the responses and tasks carried out by artificial intelligence, which is a danger. This ideological, ethical and professional control – whether in finance, law, the arts or marketing – will be fundamental, and that is where training in universities must be directed.”
