Technology is driving at least two trends in young people that colleges should have an answer for: self-education and loneliness. Meanwhile, employers increasingly value social and collaborative skills that AI cannot provide. Artificial intelligence is rapidly eroding their monopoly on instruction, and young adults are experiencing historically high levels of loneliness. If higher education is to justify its staggering cost, it must confront both realities at once by deliberately designing environments and experiences that foster social connection alongside academics. Done well, colleges can offer something AI cannot replicate. Gen Z is living through a profound social crisis. Nearly three-quarters of 16- to 24-year-olds report feeling lonely, and young adults now spend 70 percent less time in person with friends compared with just two decades ago. The share of U.S. adults with no close friends has quadrupled since 1990.
