#AI@Work: HEd & The Economics of Value
David Gelernter of Yale University stated in the Wall Street Journal, January 23, 2017, “Over 90% of U.S. colleges will be gone within the next generation, as the higher-education world inevitably flips over and sinks.” Clayton Christensen stated much the same thing. He predicted in 2017 that half of the colleges could close in a decade. A degree from Harvard Business School costs approximately $400,000. The entire model of when and where we educate has changed. Young people are turning to corporations for learning and development. As Christensen said: “Let the students learn when they’re ready and how they want to learn, not when and how we’re ready to teach them” (Lederman, 2017). These two gurus are not alone.
Many Higher Education institutions are talking about faculty layoffs. They are downsizing to cut costs and stay alive. Much of what is called Higher Education is based on subject expertise. Expertise that surrounds a body of knowledge. Much of it redundant and repetitive. Intelligent systems are more than capable of presenting this kind of knowledge. Most learners have grown up with technologies. They expect it as part of the learning experience. There is a movement away from education for education’s sake. Education now must have direct ties to the workplace.
The future of Higher Education is under great pressure. It will respond to upheaval by adapting new directions. It will be part of the new Agile workplace. Employees must always be ready to learn new skills. The challenge for Higher Education and a key to survival is to teach students workplace skills that AI can’t replace. These skills are reliability, time management, social interactions, communication and accepting criticism. AI is currently widely used for homework. It will take over redundant and repetitive knowledge. Blended, online and mobile learning will be driven by user demand, preference and economic restraints.
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