Speaking at the Universitas 21 Leadership Summit at the University of Glasgow, presidents and vice‑chancellors said AI is colliding with geopolitical tensions, financial fragility and public scepticism about the worth of a degree, forcing institutions to confront uncomfortable questions about their purpose.
Xiang Zhang, president and vice‑chancellor of the University of Hong Kong, described AI as a different disruption to what has come before.
He contrasted past inventions that extended human physical capabilities with the current wave, where “we humans invent something to compete with our brains”. If cars and airplanes were “physical extensions”, AI is different again, he suggested.
Citing US forecasts that up to a third of the workforce could be displaced in the coming years due to technology, Zhang warned that society is set to undergo “a tremendous shake‑up in the next five to ten years”.
“We’re running a rollercoaster… and we don’t know where it ends,” he said, admitting to feeling “a little bit excited and also frightened”.
The impact has also led to fundamental questions for human-led research, with Zhang commenting that “universities need to rethink how we can work together globally… not only [so] we survive, but also to help human society to survive better”.
While companies and other sectors are driven by profit, “university in this drastic change of historical time will [still] have a role and a leadership role”, he maintained.
For Adam Tickell, vice‑chancellor and principal of the University of Birmingham, AI is already reshaping the calculation students make about whether university is worth it.
He pointed to “a labour market which is completely being transformed by artificial intelligence”, intense global competition and high youth unemployment in key sending countries, and said it is not surprising that international students are “looking quite hard and thinking, is that an investment worth making?”
Despite this, Tickell said he still sees universities as “genuinely transformational places” for students, even in turbulent times.
In South Africa, Letlhokwa Mpedi, vice‑chancellor and principal of the University of Johannesburg, framed AI as arriving on top of intense access and equity pressures, but insisted universities must respond with “an open mind” rather than panic.
“Universities must pay attention to these issues,” he said. “We need to focus on producing graduates that are AI‑fluent… but we must also be level‑headed.”
Johannesburg has introduced a free, compulsory course, ‘AI in the Fourth Industrial Revolution’, which all its students must pass before graduating, and has opened it globally to anyone who has completed high school.
“Our students cannot graduate without taking that,” Mpedi said. “When somebody graduates, [they] must understand what AI is all about”.
At the same time, he challenged narratives that big tech providers with online courses will simply replace universities.
“Education is not a get‑rich‑quick scheme,” he said. While new offerings from companies such as Microsoft and Google “will fill a gap… it will not take the university education completely. It will complement”.
Instead, he argued, universities must double down on what they uniquely offer – research‑informed teaching and the ability to develop critical thinkers who can see “opportunities, and [who] see things that AI will not do”.
Camille Galap, president of Université Paris‑Saclay, said universities in France remain “trusted institutions” but are “more vulnerable as our responsibilities grow”, including defending academic freedom, social responsibility and open science in a volatile environment.
With more than 90% of funding coming from public sources, he warned, securing support for universities and research is essential “otherwise we cannot defend the autonomy of universities and science, neither in France nor Europe”.
Because of the potential drastic change in the society next 10 years, a university holds the best hope for a human society
Xiang Zhang, president and vice‑chancellor of the University of Hong Kong
For all four leaders, the answer to whether universities still matter in an AI‑driven world was ultimately yes – but not if they stand still.
“Because of the potential drastic change in society [over the] next 10 years, a university holds the best hope for a human society,” said Zhang. “We [need to] think about the long‑term and for the best interest of the human race. If there is any hope, it’s here.”
