Three years ago, we published an article examining higher education transformation in the era of artificial intelligence technology expansion. The paper's focus was on LLMs such as ChatGPT. The purpose of the present paper is to compare the expectations for 2023 with the realities observed in 2026. We aim to assess the current state of higher education and to propose new perspectives for its progress. To begin with, we present and examine the findings from a content analysis of articles about AI in education published in leading Russian-language journals between 2023 and 2025. This helps us to identify prevailing trends and gaps in professional literature. Based on this analysis, we discuss both realized and unrealized expectations for 2023 and subsequently observe the risks currently facing participants in higher education. The article then outlines seven propositions for Russian higher education in the AI era, which may serve as the basis for research questions in future studies. We conclude with a suggestion regarding the long-term transformation of higher education.