Mark Cuban says studying philosophy may soon be worth more than computer science—here's why
According to billionaire technology entrepreneur Mark Cuban, earning a college degree in computer science might not be the safe investment you think it is.
Today, students who study computer science have a high likelihood of scoring a lucrative job: Glassdoor determined computer science and engineering to be the number one highest-paying major to study in 2017. Meanwhile, students of liberal arts subjects often make far less.
But Cuban, also an investor on ABC's "Shark Tank," expects that to change.
"I'm going to make a prediction," Cuban told AOL in 2017. "In 10 years, a liberal arts degree in philosophy will be worth more than a traditional programming degree."
That's because Cuban expects artificial intelligence technology to vastly change the job market, and he anticipates that eventually technology will become so smart it can program itself.
"What is happening now with artificial intelligence is we'll start automating automation," Cuban tells AOL. "Artificial intelligence won't need you or I to do it, it will be able to figure out itself how to automate [tasks] over the next 10 to 15 years.
"Now the hard part isn't whether or not it will change the nature of the work force — it will," he continues. "The question is, over the period of time that it happens, who will be displaced?"
He views previously lucrative jobs in industries like accounting and computer programming as subject to the powers of automation. To remain competitive, Cuban advises ditching degrees that teach specific skills or professions and opting for degrees that teach you to think in a big picture way, like philosophy.
"Knowing how to critically think and assess them from a global perspective, I think, is going to be more valuable than what we see as exciting careers today which might be programming or CPA or those types of things," says Cuban, speaking at SXSW in Austin in 2017.
Personally, Cuban is concerned about the rapid advancement in artificial intelligence.
"It scares the s--- out of me," says Cuban at the Ozy Fest conference in New York City in July 2017. "However much change you saw over the last 10 years with the iPhone, over the last 20 years with the Internet, over the last 30 years with PCs, etc., that is nothing. Nothing!"
Don't miss: Warren Buffett and Mark Cuban agree this one habit is key to success—and anyone can do it
Like this story? Like CNBC Make It on Facebook!
Disclaimer: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to "Shark Tank."