I definitely agree that training in physics is remarkably useful for making progress in other areas, like AI or biology, which came up in this interview and others. I doubt anyone disagrees, and a lot of these other areas are growing, yet the number of physics majors has been declining. (In the US, at least.) "For the third year in a row, the number of physics bachelor’s degrees awarded by US institutions has declined." [https://pubs.aip.org/physicstoday/article-abstract/77/12/26/3321124/Physics-bachelor-s-degrees-in-the-US-trend] In fairness, Physics rose in popularity from about 2010-2020. Still, the current trend is disturbing, and many physics departments are struggling with low numbers of majors. Here (your former home, U. of Oregon) we awarded 21 undergraduate degrees this year; the total student population is about 20,000. There are a lot of reasons that physics isn't as popular as it should be, spanning high school curricula, undergraduate advising, math education, and more, but that's another story.
I definitely agree that training in physics is remarkably useful for making progress in other areas, like AI or biology, which came up in this interview and others. I doubt anyone disagrees, and a lot of these other areas are growing, yet the number of physics majors has been declining. (In the US, at least.) "For the third year in a row, the number of physics bachelor’s degrees awarded by US institutions has declined." [https://pubs.aip.org/physicstoday/article-abstract/77/12/26/3321124/Physics-bachelor-s-degrees-in-the-US-trend] In fairness, Physics rose in popularity from about 2010-2020. Still, the current trend is disturbing, and many physics departments are struggling with low numbers of majors. Here (your former home, U. of Oregon) we awarded 21 undergraduate degrees this year; the total student population is about 20,000. There are a lot of reasons that physics isn't as popular as it should be, spanning high school curricula, undergraduate advising, math education, and more, but that's another story.
Thanks for the interview; interesting as always!