Stanford was their golden ticket – could AI help or hinder that?

Stanford has laid claim to innovations ranging from computer time-sharing to the synthesis of biologically active DNA.

It’s home to the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory where the first website in North America went online in 1991.

Alums include Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the co-founders of Google, which began as a research project while both were PhD students at the university. Brin could be spotted strolling around the campus in track pants years after he started the search giant here.

Over many decades, researchers at Stanford have played a pioneering role in the development of AI. The term “artificial intelligence” was coined here by computer scientist John McCarthy, according to the university.

Several members of the present-day AI illuminati have ties to the university. Renowned computer scientist Fei-Fei Li, known as the “Godmother of AI,” serves as a professor here. OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman dropped out of Stanford in 2005.

A four-year undergraduate degree from Stanford can run to almost $400,000 when expenses are included. But for students who land a seat here, it can be a golden ticket to a successful career in tech.

There was a time when lecturers with day jobs at nearby tech companies would reportedly include offer letters beneath graded exams as they returned them to those who showed the most potential.

While that practice appears to have been phased out, Stanford’s reputation as a hunting ground for the next generation of tech talent remains intact, with prominent industry leaders – alums and otherwise – regularly appearing on campus.

The university’s reputation is a draw for tens of thousands of applicants each year – less than 4% of whom are admitted, external.

“Stanford is the centre of ingenuity in the entire country and in the world,” said Harry Kaplan, a graduate in the Management Science and Engineering programme. “A lot of knowledge, research and innovation comes from here. And it’s a proud legacy for all of us to be a part of.”

Kaplan said the impact that artificial intelligence would have on his future remained unclear.

“It’s too early to tell,” he said, clutching an inflatable palm tree as students prepared for the Stanford graduation tradition known as the “Wacky Walk”.

“It’s an exciting place to be. It feels like we’re at the edge of something,” Kaplan added.