Sam Altman wants to teach your teenager

Hey,

There’s been a lot of debate around the value of a bachelor’s degree over the last few years. Is it worth the time and student debt? Can you get by on work experience and network alone?

Even the data fails to surface a satisfying consensus:

- In 2023 it was reported that nearly half of all companies surveyed planned to drop the bachelor’s degree requirement for several entry and mid-level roles

- Last week a Gallup survey found that 80% of employers still prefer to hire candidates with a degree

- Earlier this month another poll found that just 31% of Americans deem a college education as ‘very important’

Basically, it depends.

That isn’t really stopping big tech from doing exactly what big tech has always done: looking at economic trends and capitalizing on whatever opportunity they can find.

Notorious Silicon Valley VC firm and Trump-aligned Andreessen Horowitz (aka a16z) have bet on the idea of traditional higher education becoming less valuable by bankrolling (to the tune of $35M) a new academy that, if it even works, would help prove them right.

But when you peel back just one layer, The Horowitz Andreessen Academy is a glorified AI bootcamp program led by its CEO Gagan Biyani, and faculty members including Sam Altman and Jensen Huang. Nightmare blunt rotation aside, it doesn’t exist for professionals to upskill themselves, it wants to entirely replace post secondary education.

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Let’s ground into the facts

You could, I suppose, compare the academy to trade school. Except trade schools offer working class folks a low cost specialized education. The Horowitz Andreessen Academy? Not so much.

The academy’s founding class pays no tuition and gets $50k each in compute credits, and when the 2-year program launches in 2028, tuition is expected to run around $120-$180k a head. Students will also be responsible for covering their own living expenses in San Francisco, a city where a shoebox apartment could run you upwards of $3k a month.

This means paying students could be out around a quarter of a million dollars at the end of the program—which by the way offers no federal aid, no certificate to earn, and no employment security once it’s over.

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Admissions are based on proof of work, but Ben Horowitz also said they’re looking for people who want to be, and I quote, “the main character,” following that up with “If you want to be a cog in the machine, this is not the best place for you.”

When you translate all of this, what they seem to be saying is that this academy is purpose built for the kids of the ultra wealthy elite.

And that’s something worth paying attention to

Because when an academy is associated with dozens of the top tech companies and leaders, it’s reasonable to assume that everyone’s interest is to recruit. They have the unique ability to mold ambitious rich kids into the next generation of Sam Altman’s *shiver* before they can experience a world outside of tech.

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Putting teenagers into a highly specialized program so early is intentional. The skills they’ll learn are cherry picked to address the specific needs of AI companies, because they know that their survival depends on filling roles with pliable people who will do exactly what they need them to do. Someone who’s years away from a fully developed prefrontal cortex makes for an ideal candidate, don’t you think?

It’s especially curious given that Big Tech founders send their young children to low or no tech Montessori or Waldorf schools. And when they’re older, they attend Ivy league institutions. Nepotism handles job placements from there. They don’t need The Horowitz Andreessen Academy to enter the AI ecosystem. The academy exists to funnel the other super rich kids into it—and train them to be top-of-the-line billionaire minions.

A real education rocks

Look, a college or university education is still a privilege, even if it’s more accessible now by way of student debt. It’s also not the only way to receive education beyond grade school—there are plenty of legitimate certification programs designed to upskill, backed with real world proof that they work. Wink wink nudge nudge.

A recruitment pipeline that masquerades as education isn’t built for student success—it’s built for shareholders.

The value of a real education is in its ability to introduce students to ideas that they may not have otherwise explored. It expands worldviews, encourages curiosity, and teaches critical thinking. It’s human.

Where we choose to get our education matters, and it begins by looking at a program, its founders, faculty, and mission and asking what it actually is and who or what actually benefits from your enrollment.

Until next time,

Ines

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