What does Brian Kernighan think LLMs are doing to computer science education?

Brian Kernighan said it is too early to call LLMs a net positive or negative for education. He sees a clear loss in students no longer coming to office hours, since in-person contact carries far more information and builds relationships that lead to opportunities. He also reported that Princeton's computer science majors are falling: just over 200 graduated in spring 2026, and he expects the class two years later to be under half that, perhaps 80 or 90, as students move toward electrical, mechanical and aerospace engineering.

• Kernighan said smaller classes do mean more faculty contact with each student.
• Kernighan thinks students may be overreacting to press claims that programmers are no longer needed.

▸In their words

“So we have many fewer computer science majors than we did a few years ago.” Brian Kernighan · at 56:03 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Ryan Peterman (2026-10-26). Read the whole episode summary →

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