By Jacob Shteyman
Publication Date: 2026-03-16 18:00:00
A university degree could lose value in securing a job in the age of artificial intelligence, an influential member of the government’s economic team posits, as finance workers fear AI could steal their jobs.
Instead of formal schooling, judgment may have become a more important indicator of success, Andrew Leigh, the deputy minister for productivity, said in a speech in Brisbane on Tuesday.
As AI undermines the importance of cognitive expertise, universities and employers need to rethink assessment and hiring, argues Dr. Leigh, a former economics professor who has written extensively about innovation and inequality.
Minister Andrew Leigh said “meta skills” such as articulating problems are valued by employers. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)
“Instead of formal competence categories such as school leaving certificates, professional qualifications and university degrees, the more relevant distinction in the future could be differences in the type of cognition carried out,” he will…
