by Wonsuh Song
Not long ago, I ran my lecture uploaded on the Youtube through an online summarizing tool. In under a minute—more like ten seconds, really—my content was neatly condensed into multiple languages, including English and Japanese. The experience felt almost like stumbling upon a “cheat key” for learning, leaving me both amazed and uneasy about what it means for the future of university education and the role of professors.
A quick glance at social media shows countless videos demonstrating how today’s college students are using AI-driven summarizers and other shortcuts to study more “efficiently” and achieve high grades with minimal effort. This phenomenon is so common that many students may justifiably wonder if they should even bother to sit through an entire lecture when they can access a polished summary in mere seconds.
While prioritizing efficiency is understandable in our busy world, it’s worth asking whether universities exist solely to transmit knowledge. After all, universities offer more than just information. Professors bring rich experience and expertise that illuminate the thinking process, while students benefit from discussing ideas, challenging one another’s perspectives, and forming a sense of academic community. A one-page summary may conveniently deliver key points, but it cannot replicate the deeper intellectual engagement or the immersive learning experience that shape critical thinkers.
So where do professors fit into this new landscape? It starts with recognizing that the era of one-way “information delivery” in classrooms has passed. Professors now need to adopt the role of “learning facilitators.” This means designing questions and discussions that encourage deeper analysis, provoke curiosity, and drive students to apply AI-generated summaries or any other study tools in a way that fosters understanding, not just memorization. In other words, the ultimate goal is to help students refine their critical thinking and collaborative skills—abilities that remain invaluable, AI or not.
Leading universities worldwide are already shifting their teaching approach from traditional lecture-based models to project-based, discussion-oriented, and experiential learning. With so much information readily available online, there is little point in rehashing every detail in the classroom. Instead, educators can create environments where students confront real-world problems, collaborate to develop solutions, and then exchange insights through presentations and debates. Yes, this approach demands more “work” from faculty. However, it also ensures that students derive more “value” from their education—a sense of accomplishment and intellectual engagement that simple summaries cannot provide.
There is no denying we face a tidal wave of change brought on by AI. While these technologies can serve as powerful tools for both professors and students, we must question whether they can—or should—replace the essence of university education. The true value of a university goes beyond acquiring knowledge; it lies in the shared journey of discovery, the deepening of intellectual curiosity, and the cultivation of skills essential for a complex and ever-evolving world.
In a time when knowledge can be compressed in seconds, one might ask: is there still a reason to attend university lectures in person? The answer is a resounding yes—because what happens inside a classroom involves far more than raw data or bullet-point summaries. It involves real human interaction, exploration of diverse perspectives, and the messy yet transformative process of learning itself.
Though the anxiety among professors is real, it can also be reframed as a chance to evolve. By embracing new tools while preserving the human-centered elements that make education meaningful, universities can continue to fulfill their mission in this rapidly changing era. Ultimately, it’s the intangible qualities—those that defy simple summarization—that make university education irreplaceable. Our mission now is to safeguard and enhance those qualities, ensuring that higher education remains a journey of genuine learning rather than a mere collection of facts.
Wonsuh Song (Ph.D.)
Full-time Lecturer, Faculty of School Teacher Education, Shumei University
Adjunct Lecturer, Faculty of Education, Waseda University
Visiting Researcher, Center for Spatial Information Science, University of Tokyo
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