LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman predicts that AI will revolutionize education, making exams tougher and favoring in-depth understanding. He suggests AI-monitored assessments and oral exams will become more common, requiring students to develop critical thinking skills. Hoffman urges educators to embrace AI, preparing students for an AI-driven future rather than resisting technological advancements.

Hoffman believes that AI tools like ChatGPT won't make academic life easier for students; instead, they’ll make exams tougher and harder to game. Speaking on his podcast Possible, Hoffman predicted that the rise of AI will push educational institutions toward more rigorous evaluation methods, particularly oral exams and AI-monitored assessments. He stated that AI examiners will be present during assessments, making it harder to fake than in pre-AI times.

According to Hoffman, schools will increasingly adopt testing formats that require deeper understanding, critical thinking, and real-time articulation—skills that can't be easily outsourced to AI. He acknowledged that many students are already using tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Pi to shortcut traditional assignments, but he warned against nostalgia in academia.

Hoffman criticized universities that resist updating their teaching methods, saying that wishing for the past is a mistake. Instead of trying to ban AI in classrooms, he urged educators to embrace it, demonstrating its strengths and limitations, and prepare students for an AI-driven future. He emphasized that preparing students to be capable, healthy, and happy participants in the new world is essential, and the ability to engage with, deploy, leverage, and utilize AI will be absolutely critical.

Hoffman also suggested that oral exams, typically reserved for advanced academic programs, could become standard across all levels of education. He explained that being prepared for oral exams requires a comprehensive understanding. He concluded that educators must adapt to the new technological reality rather than resist it.