Wondering how to raise a successful kid? The mother of the former CEOs of YouTube and 23andMe says skipping college isn't the way to go, even in the AI era.
Esther Wojcicki, an educator known as "The Godmother of Silicon Valley" known for sharing advice on raising successful children, is the mother of the late Susan Wojcicki, YouTube's former CEO, Anne Wojcicki, of 23andMe, and Janet Wojcicki, an anthropologist.
During an episode of the "Silicon Valley Girl" podcast, posted on June 9, the host Marina Mogilko asked Wojcicki, "Do you think parents should be saving or pushing for college in today's age?"
Wojcicki said she believes college is "so important," adding, "People think, 'Oh, we don't need college anymore, they can get it all online.' College is an opportunity for you to hone your interaction with other human beings skills. It's an opportunity for you to grow."
"Between the ages of 18 and 22, you have a lot of growing to do, and if you don't interact with other people, you aren't going to get those skills. So you're never going to be able to substitute college with an AI education," she said.
Wojcicki's comments add to the debate about how AI is transforming education. Earlier this year, a Gallup survey found that 16% of college students had changed their major because of the impact that AI might have.
Other prominent business leaders to weigh in on how young people should approach their futures in the age of AI include Mark Cuban. Last year, he said he advised his college-aged children not to look for a job at big companies, since small and medium businesses need more help implementing AI.
Echoing Wojcicki's comments on the importance of interpersonal skills, the AI researcher Yoshua Bengio, known as a "Godfather of AI," has said his advice for his grandson is to "work on the beautiful human being that you can become," since these skills will persist even if machines can someday do most jobs.
Do you have a story to share about deciding whether to send your kid to college? Contact this reporter at [email protected]
Read next
Charissa Cheong is a senior first-person reporter on Business Insider's Business Contributors and Freelance team, based in London. She covers: How visa pathways impact careers, what it’s like working at the world’s biggest companies or alongside its most prominent leaders, how the AI revolution is affecting professionals, and more. Charissa’s work spans a wide range of topics, but the unifying thread is first-person storytelling — sharing people’s unique career and life experiences in their own voice, with their own words. She writes in Business Insider’s signature “As-told-to” format, which is designed to highlight powerful perspectives in a conversational way. She also commissions and edits personal essays from freelance writers and contributors. Charissa joined Business Insider in 2022 on the digital culture desk, covering family vlogging, online harassment, and influencer culture. She moved to the contributors and freelance team in 2024.She graduated from the University of Cambridge with a BA in English and holds a gold standard NCTJ Level 5 journalism diploma.If you have an experience you would like to share in a first-person story for Business Insider, get in touch with Charissa via email at [email protected] or Signal at charissacheong.63ExpertiseFirst-person journalism focused on careers, Big Tech, employment visas, and immigration. Selected stories
Follow Following
Every time publishes a story, you’ll get an alert straight to your inbox!
Look out for an alert in your inbox the next time publishes a story!
Every time a new story is published, you’ll get an alert straight to your inbox!
Look out for an alert in your inbox the next time a new story is published!
By clicking “Sign up”, you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
