Comment by noisy_boy

It has always been transactional. There were always a few gems in every class who actually had the brains and/or drive to dig into the subject and enjoy it. A big chunk were there to have a good time with friends and class is something they just went through. The rest hated it but didn't have a choice. This composition has been there forever.

Its like gym - everyone should exercise but only a few love it and the rest would rather get the muscles without putting in the effort. The gym rats and the purists are still enjoying real gains. However, now the reluctant majority has access to steroids called LLMs that are providing hollow gains in form of useless degrees and certifications while no one seems to care about the long term damage.