AI continues to raise concern in the academic field
The following contribution belongs to Javier Espinoza who is the EU correspondent for the Financial Times covering competition and digital policy from Brussels. Before that, he was the newspaper’s private equity correspondent in London. He was part of the original group of reporters who formed the FT’s Due Diligence newsletter in 2017.
Academics express confidence that they and AI can work together. An effect of the new technology “does not have to be the expulsion” of teachers from the classrooms
Artificial intelligence may not be about to replace teachers and university professors entirely, but it is increasing the way the education sector engages with learning.
Robert Seamans, a professor of management and organizations at New York University’s Stern School of Business, hopes that AI tools like ChatGPT will help him and his peers get better at what they already do, rather than having their roles become assume
They will undoubtedly be “faster, and I hope that means they will be better,” explains Seamans.
And he is well placed to judge, as he co-authored research on the professions most vulnerable to the rapid growth of AI.
This research found that eight of the top 10 occupations exposed to AI are in the education sector: primarily teachers of various subjects, including sociology and political science.
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean they will be replaced, Seamans stresses, just that the way they do their jobs will be affected in a variety of ways.
NYU Stern School of Business, where students already use intelligent chatbots to facilitate learning © Alamy
Study recognizes potential for job losses and government’s role in managing disruption
But it also points out the potential of the technology. An AI-trained workforce will help both companies and workers themselves “take advantage of new tools,” the research concluded.
In education, the implications include a change in the way academics deliver content and interact with their students, with greater access through tools such as ChatGPT and automated administrative tasks.
Use cases: learning chatbots and writing prompts
David Veredas is a professor at the Vlerick Business School in Brussels. He sees AI as an “enabler” for educators and their students in the same way that other tools like Google and Wikipedia have done so far.
“First we had the whiteboard, then the slides and now we have artificial intelligence,” says Veredas. «We can do a lot more, like use virtual reality to enhance the learning experience.»
Others see the potential of AI as an enhancer in the classroom. Greg Benson, a computer science professor at the University of San Francisco, recently launched GenAI café, an informal forum where students share views on the potential of generative AI. “Right now I feel like a kid in a candy store,” he says. «There are a lot of changes.»
Benson says intelligent chatbots have emerged as part of his university’s initial thinking about artificial intelligence tools that can aid learning. «They won’t give you the answer, but they will help you think through the problems you’re working on,» he says.
However, he is concerned about plagiarism as a consequence of the use of linguistic models.
«Cheating is not a new problem, but we have made it explicit that AI-generated work cannot be delivered,» he explains.
ChatGPT can be used to speed up the process of writing academic papers.
Seamans has started using ChatGPT to speed up his writing process. He says writing «is a little faster because I put some initial ideas into ChatGPT and start to have a structure or framework.» And he adds: “I never use most of what he offers me because it is not in my words. [But] it triggers this creative process . . . It gives me something to react to.”
In this way, AI is likely to make some tasks easier to perform, rather than making roles redundant
In addition to helping draft initial research ideas, it can help structure academic papers or provide a platform for brainstorming. This would speed up the academic workflow but would not replace the creative or intellectual input of professors. «It doesn’t have to be the elimination of a teacher in front of the class,» stresses Seamans.
Boosted Jobs: Teachers and Classroom Teachers
Benson points to experimental tools developed by big tech companies that will act as virtual assistants, not necessarily replacing one, but creating a new AI function.
Noteworthy is Google’s NotebookLM, which helps find trends from uploaded documents. “You can ask him to summarize. You can ask it to produce things.
That’s an example where you could imagine a teacher putting up his notes to make available to his students now. Is this a new position or is it an increase to my current position?
It also helps with the students’ thinking process.
“If you’re taking an ancient Chinese history class and you get all your class notes and you can put them in [NotebookLM]. This app would automatically generate a list of questions and answers from those notes and then create flashcards for them. Then you could study from that material.”
Veredas is optimistic about his profession surviving and thriving despite the arrival of AI. He highlights the irreplaceable core of learning that involves interaction, discussion and critical thinking, which AI cannot easily replicate.
She says: “AI can revolutionize the classroom. We can let students learn the basics at home with AI and then we can delve deeper into the class discussion. But it remains to be seen. “We need to be open to new technologies and adopt them whenever they are useful for learning.”
What the Financial Times is proposing
The Higher Education for Good Foundation, in partnership with a wide range of organisations, hosted Youth AI Talks from 8 April to 6 May, to explore views on the functions and effects of artificial intelligence on learning. , as well as well-being and climate.
Supported by a network of volunteer youth ambassadors and leading experts, young people were given the opportunity to express their views online, and AI helped them translate their ideas from multiple languages and summarize their opinions.
It was a time to share what you thought about how AI could enhance and disrupt teaching and learning, how you are already using it, what you think the limits should be, and how to prepare for a future in which it will play a role. increasingly important role.
The Financial Times will summarize the most important trends and insights in its upcoming report on AI for schools, which will be published at the end of May.
A recent survey of young people’s views on what should be taught in schools to create the future they seek highlighted almost none of the traditional skills such as science, technology, engineering, mathematics, social sciences and humanities.
Instead, respondents focused on the importance of learning how to allow them to live together in harmony, citing qualities such as respect, kindness, solidarity, general moral values, tolerance, open-mindedness, empathy, acceptance , responsibility, friendship and love.
Closing the trust gap in AI will help us realize its full potential
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has great potential in all sectors and industries; To ensure we leverage it effectively, it is critical to close the trust gap in AI.
This is what Harold Pradal, who is the commercial director of the BSI Group, and responsible for shaping and realizing BSI’s vision, commercial strategy and key initiatives to support business growth across all streams, argues in this contribution. of businesses, sectors and geographies.
This article is part of the “AI Governance Summit.”
The use and expansion of artificial intelligence is almost inevitable in many industries around the world, and it shows great promise in all of them.
But today many people remain skeptical of AI, an attitude fueled largely by its newness and how opaque the technology can be.
To close this trust gap in AI and realize its full potential, building trust is essential
It’s strange to think that it’s only been 12 months since the launch of ChatGPT, given how much people talk about generative AI these days. In fact, media coverage shows a 286% year-on-year increase in coverage of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
But while last year can be seen as the tipping point in which AI went mainstream, the true story of AI goes much deeper.
For starters, AI is already deeply embedded in our lives.
BSI’s Trust in AI survey found that 38% of people worldwide consciously use AI daily at work
While three-fifths expect to use it by 2030, a figure that increases to 86% in China.
Adopting this technology has the potential to accelerate progress across society, in areas ranging from healthcare and sustainability to food security.
That also means there are critical questions to consider about how to build trust in AI and enforce barriers to ensure it positively shapes our future.
Closing the trust gap in AI
From UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to Elon Musk, we have seen frequent warnings about the challenges of AI. Caution is certainly advisable, as with any new technology.
Still, it is also worth focusing on the possibilities that AI can open up, thanks to its ability to process good quality data in innovative ways.
AI offers enormous opportunities in areas ranging from medicine to construction and even the fight against modern slavery.
Take, for example, the United Nations Environment Program’s Global Environment Situation Room, which uses AI to perform near-live analysis and make predictions for the future based on factors such as changes in glacier mass.
Another example of AI as a positive force comes from healthcare.
Three years ago, the world was on the cusp of the first COVID-19 vaccines; a turning point for people around the world.
What people rarely focus on is that Moderna used artificial intelligence and robotic automation to produce about 1,000 mRNAs, a molecule critical to vaccine development, each month.
No wonder, then, that 56% of people surveyed by BSI said they were optimistic about the prospect of AI reducing waiting times in hospitals and that more than half were enthusiastic about its ability to improve diagnostic accuracy.
Nearly 4 in 10 people say they already use AI in their work. That number is destined to grow
Nearly 4 in 10 people say they already use AI in their work. That number is destined to grow.
AI: a net benefit to society, if used correctly
Around the world, people identify the benefits that AI can bring to society: 55% globally believe that AI can help us create a more energy-efficient built environment, while 46% support its use to make the food system more sustainable.
However, despite this, the BSI survey revealed a trust gap, more marked in Europe and the United States than in China or India, but relevant everywhere.
This can be attributed to numerous things, including a lack of trust in technology and a general hesitancy in the face of the unknown. This is reasonable, given that there may be personal data and a lot at stake, especially considering how little we really understand AI.
In fact, many of us unknowingly use AI-enabled tools every day From phones to curated playlists – 57% said they didn’t know customer service chatbots used AI. It’s hard to have confidence in something you don’t fully understand and that’s where you can improve.
While we may doubt it, we expect AI to be common by 2030, in automated lighting (41%), automated vehicles (45%) or biometric identification for travel (40%). A quarter (26%) expect AI to be used regularly in school. It is now a race against time to close the trust gap to enhance the benefits of AI for society.
We can do this in many ways, including through transparency and greater communication about its uses.
This starts with improving proficiency in AI while creating the expectation that human involvement will always be necessary if we are to get the most out of it. It’s not just about AI or humans, but about a partnership to drive progress.
Establish safety barriers
The other component is to establish strong guardrails to protect society and ensure that AI remains a force for good.
Having frameworks in place to regulate their use can help build trust and ultimately increase it. In fact, it is striking that three-fifths of the world want international guidelines on AI.
Ethical and safe use
This indicates the importance of collaboration to ensure the ethical and safe use of AI and build trust. There is no single solution. But alongside legislation such as the EU AI Law, there is an opportunity to leverage agreed best practice standards and principles, such as the upcoming AI management standard, which can evolve alongside the technology.
That there is no misuse of data
This could pave the way to ensure, for example, that data is not misused and that the inputs applied to AI tools are equitable. The key is that now is the time to collaborate globally to balance the incredible power of AI with the reality of using it in a well-executed and well-governed way.
AI is already being used on a large scale, but many people may not necessarily be aware that they are using it.
Harness the potential of AI
Ultimately, AI has the potential to be a transformative technology that we can harness to drive social progress. Fear of the unknown could hinder this, meaning trust is the critical factor.
In the BSI survey, 74% said they needed trust for the use of AI in medical devices and 71% for financial transactions
Developing knowledge about AI and raising awareness about how it is already being used for good can help build this trust, freeing people up to make great use of this technology.
Even as we express concerns, we are aware of the opportunities that AI represents. 29% of people see AI as a tool to protect the planet, while 28% say a top priority is for AI to improve medical diagnosis and 22% choose to make a more just society. The possibilities offered by AI are immense.
Closing the trust gap and creating appropriate checks and balances can allow us to accelerate the adoption of AI and realize its potential as a powerful force for good.
AI will transform the global economy. Let’s make sure it benefits humanity
The following contribution corresponds to Kristalina Georgieva who currently serves as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, a position for which she was selected on September 25, 2019 and which she has held since October 1, 2019.
Before joining the IMF, Ms. Georgieva was Executive Director of the World Bank from January 2017 to September 2019, during which time she also served as Acting President of the World Bank Group for three months.
AI will affect nearly 40 percent of jobs worldwide, replacing some and complementing others. We need a careful balance
We are on the brink of a technological revolution that could boost productivity, drive global growth and increase incomes around the world. However, it could also replace jobs and deepen inequality.
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence has captivated the world, sparking excitement and alarm, and raising important questions about its potential impact on the global economy.
The net effect is difficult to predict, as AI will spread through economies in complex ways.
What we can say with some confidence is that we will need to devise a set of policies to safely harness the vast potential of AI for the benefit of humanity.
Reshaping the nature of work
In a new analysis, IMF staff examine the potential impact of AI on the global labor market. Many studies have predicted the likelihood of jobs being replaced by AI. However, we know that in many cases AI is likely to complement human work. The IMF analysis captures both forces.
The findings are surprising: almost 40 percent of global employment is exposed to AI
Historically, automation and information technology have tended to impact routine tasks, but one of the things that sets AI apart is its ability to impact highly skilled jobs. As a result, advanced economies face greater risks from AI, but also more opportunities to reap its benefits, compared to emerging market and developing economies.
In advanced economies, around 60% of jobs may be affected by AI. About half of exposed jobs could benefit from AI integration, improving productivity. For the other half, AI applications can perform key tasks currently performed by humans, which could reduce labor demand, leading to lower wages and reduced hiring.
In the most extreme cases, some of these jobs may disappear
By contrast, in emerging markets and low-income countries, exposure to AI is expected to be 40% and 26%, respectively. These findings suggest that emerging market and developing economies face fewer immediate disruptions from AI.
At the same time, many of these countries do not have the infrastructure or skilled workforce to reap the benefits of AI, raising the risk that the technology could worsen inequality between nations over time.
AI could also affect income and wealth inequality within countries
We may see polarization within income brackets: workers who can take advantage of AI will see an increase in their productivity and wages, and those who cannot be left behind.
Research shows that AI can help less experienced workers improve their productivity more quickly. Younger workers may find it easier to take advantage of opportunities, while older workers may find it difficult to adapt.
The effect on labor income will largely depend on the extent to which AI will complement high-income workers.
If AI significantly complements higher-income workers, it may lead to a disproportionate increase in their labor income.
Additionally, the productivity gains of companies adopting AI will likely increase returns on capital, which may also favor higher earners. Both phenomena could exacerbate inequality.
In most scenarios, AI will likely worsen overall inequality
A worrying trend that policymakers must proactively address to prevent technology from further stoking social tensions. It is crucial that countries establish comprehensive social safety nets and offer retraining programs for vulnerable workers.
By doing so, we can make the transition to AI more inclusive, protecting livelihoods and curbing inequality.
An inclusive world powered by AI
AI is being integrated into businesses around the world at remarkable speed, underscoring the need for policymakers to act.
To help countries design the right policies, the IMF has developed an AI Readiness Index that measures readiness in areas such as digital infrastructure, human capital and labor market policies, innovation and economic integration, and regulation and ethics.
Evaluate studies and mobility in the labor market
The human capital and labor market policy component, for example, evaluates elements such as years of schooling and mobility in the labor market, as well as the proportion of the population covered by social safety nets.
The regulation and ethics component assesses the adaptability of a country’s legal framework to digital business models and the presence of strong governance for effective implementation.
Using the index, IMF staff assessed the preparedness of 125 countries
The findings reveal that wealthier economies, including advanced and some emerging market economies, tend to be better equipped for AI adoption than low-income countries, although there is considerable variation between countries. Singapore, the United States and Denmark earned the highest scores on the index, based on their strong results in all four categories analyzed.
Prioritize innovation and AI integration
Guided by insights from the AI Readiness Index, advanced economies should prioritize AI innovation and integration while developing robust regulatory frameworks.
This approach will cultivate a safe and responsible AI environment, helping to maintain public trust.
For emerging market and developing economies, the priority should be to lay a solid foundation through investments in digital infrastructure and a digitally competent workforce.
The age of AI is here and it is still in our hands to ensure that it creates prosperity for all.
The future of employment and job training
The following contribution is authored by Lee Rainie and Janna Anderson.
Lee Rainie is director of Internet and technology research at the Pew Research Center. Under his leadership, the Center has published more than 800 reports based on its surveys and data science analyzes that examine people’s online activities and the role of the Internet in their lives. The American Sociological Association gave Rainie its award for “excellence in reporting on social issues” and described his work as the “most authoritative source of reliable data on the use and impact of Internet and mobile connectivity.”
Janna Anderson is a former communications professor and director of the Imagining Internet Center at Elon University.
As robots, automation and artificial intelligence perform more tasks and massive disruption to jobs occurs, experts say a broader range of educational and skill development programs will be created to meet the new demands.
There are two uncertainties:
– Will well-educated workers be able to keep up with artificial intelligence tools? – And will market capitalism survive?
Machines are devouring human work talent. And it’s not just about repetitive and low-skilled jobs.
In recent times, automation, robotics, algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) have shown that they can do a job equal to, or sometimes even better than, humans: dermatologists, insurance claims adjusters, lawyers, oilfield seismic evaluators, sports and financial journalists, crew members, guided missile destroyer members, hiring managers, psychological evaluators, retailers and border patrol agents.
Additionally, there is growing anxiety that technological developments on the near horizon will wipe out the jobs of millions of people who drive cars and trucks, analyze medical tests and data, perform middle management tasks, dispense medications, trade stocks, and evaluate markets. , they fight on battlefields, perform government functions and even replace those who program software, that is, the creators of algorithms.
People will create the jobs of the future, not simply train for them, and technology is already essential
It will undoubtedly play a larger role in the years to come. Multiple studies have documented that large numbers of jobs are at risk as programmed devices (many of them intelligent, autonomous systems) continue to arrive in the workplace.
A recent study by labor economists found that “one more robot per thousand workers reduces the employment-population ratio by 0.18 to 0.34 percentage points and wages by 0.25 to 0.5 percent.”
When the Pew Research Center and Elon University’s Imagining Internet Center asked experts in 2014 whether AI and robotics would create more jobs than they destroy, the verdict was evenly split: 48% of respondents envisioned a future in which more jobs would be lost than would be created. while 52% said more jobs would be created than would be lost. Since that expert survey, the future of jobs has been at the top of the agenda at many major conferences around the world.
Various policy and market-based solutions have been promoted to address job and wage losses predicted by technologists and economists.
A key insight emerging from many conversations, including one of the central discussions at the World Economic Forum in 2016, is that changes to educational and learning environments are necessary to help people remain employable in the workforce of the future. .
Among the six broad conclusions of a new 184-page report from the National Academies of Sciences, experts recommended: “The education system will need to adapt to prepare people for the changing job market. At the same time, recent advances in IT offer new and potentially more accessible ways to access education.”
Workers themselves have internalized this idea: A 2016 Pew Research Center survey, “The State of American Jobs,” found that 87% of workers believe it will be essential for them to receive training and develop new job skills over time. of your work life so you can keep up with changes in the workplace.
This survey noted that employment is much higher among jobs that require an average or above-average level of preparation (including education, experience, and job training); average or above average interpersonal, management and communication skills; and higher levels of analytical skills, such as critical thinking and computer skills.
A central question about the future, then, is whether formal and informal learning structures will evolve to meet the changing needs of people who want to meet the work expectations of the future.
The Pew Research Center and Elon’s Imagining Internet Center conducted a large-scale survey of technologists, academics, practitioners, strategic thinkers, and educational leaders in the summer of 2016, asking them to weigh in on the likely future of online training. Workplace.
Some 1,408 responded to the following question, sharing their expectations about what is likely to evolve between now and 2026:
In the next 10 years, do you think we will see the emergence of new educational and training programs that can successfully train large numbers of workers in the skills they will need to do the jobs of the future?
The unscientific poll found that 70% of these particular respondents said “yes”: such programs would emerge and be successful
A majority of the 30% who said “no” generally do not believe that adaptation in teaching environments is sufficient to teach new skills on the scale needed to help workers keep up with the technological changes that will disrupt millions of jobs. (See “About this expert poll” for more details on the limits of this sample.)
Participants were asked to explain their responses and were offered the following suggestions to consider:
– What are the most important skills needed to succeed in the workforce of the future?
– Which of these skills can be taught effectively through online systems (especially those that are self-paced) and other non-traditional environments?
– What skills will be most difficult to teach at scale?
– Will employers accept applicants who rely on new types of credentialing systems, or will they be considered less qualified than those who have attended traditional four-year and graduate programs?
Several common expectations were evident in the responses of these respondents.
No matter how hopeful or uneasy they were about the future of skills and capacity training efforts. (It is important to note that many respondents listed human behaviors, attributes, and competencies when describing desirable job skills. Although these aspects of psychology cannot be classified as “skills” and may not be directly taught in any type of training environment, the We include responses under the general heading of skills, abilities, and attributes.)
A diversified education and accreditation ecosystem
Most of these experts expect that the educational market (especially online learning platforms) will continue to change in an effort to adapt to widespread needs.
Some predict that employers will step up their own efforts to train and retrain workers. Many anticipate a significant number of self-learning efforts by workers themselves as they take advantage of the proliferation of online opportunities.
Respondents see the emergence of a new education and training ecosystem
In which some job preparation functions are performed by formal educational institutions in fairly traditional classroom settings, some elements are offered online, some are created by for-profit companies, some are free, some exploit augmented and elements of virtual reality and gaming sensibilities, and much of the real-time learning takes place in formats that job seekers follow on their own.
A considerable number of respondents to this survey focused on the likelihood that the best educational programs teach people how to be lifelong learners. As a result, some say alternative accreditation mechanisms will emerge to assess and ensure the skills people acquire along the way.
A focus on fostering unique human abilities that artificial intelligence (AI) and machines seem unable to replicate
Many of these experts discussed in their responses the human talents that they believe machines and automation may not be able to duplicate, noting that these should be the skills developed and nurtured by education and training programs to prepare people to work successfully together. with AI. These respondents suggest that workers of the future will learn to deeply cultivate and exploit creativity, collaborative activity, abstract and systems thinking, complex communication, and the ability to thrive in diverse environments.
Another example is the response of Fredric Litto, professor emeritus of communications and long-time expert in distance education at the University of São Paulo: “We are now in the transition stage in which employers gradually reduce their biases in hiring of those who studied remotely, and advance in favor of those ‘graduates’ who, in the workplace, demonstrate greater proactivity, initiative, discipline and collaboration, because they studied online.»
Other respondents mentioned traits including leadership, design thinking, “human metacommunication,” deliberation, conflict resolution, and the ability to motivate, mobilize, and innovate.
Others spoke of more practical needs that could help workers in the medium term:
– work with data and algorithms.
– implement 3D models and work with 3D printers.
– implement new emerging capabilities in artificial and augmented intelligence and virtual reality.
Jonathan Grudin, principal researcher at Microsoft, commented: “People will create the jobs of the future, not simply train for them, and technology is already critical. “It will undoubtedly play a larger role in the years to come.”
Oh really? Are you asking about the workforce of the future? As if there would be one?
Several respondents argued that job training is not a primary concern at a time when rapid change in market economies is creating huge economic divisions that are likely to leave many people behind.
An anonymous science editor commented: “Really? Are you asking about the workforce of the future? As if there would be one?
“Employers” run sweatshops abroad or hire people in the “first world” to do jobs they hate, while more and more skilled and unskilled people end up permanently on welfare or zero-hours contracts.
And skilled people with relatively “secure” employment working in the “professions” are probably much closer to falling off the same cliff than they think. The details of how they obtain their credentials will not be a problem.”
Most participants in this survey wrote detailed statements explaining their positions, although they were allowed to respond anonymously.
Your thoughtful comments provide insight into hopeful and worrying trends
These findings do not represent all possible views, but they do reveal a wide range of surprising observations.
Respondents collectively articulated five main themes. Some answers are lightly edited for style or length.
Below is a brief overview of the most evident themes drawn from the written responses, including a small selection of representative quotes that support each point.
Theme 1: The training ecosystem will evolve, with a combination of innovation in all educational formats.
These experts predict that the next decade will bring a more diversified world of education and training options in which various entities will design and provide different services to those seeking to learn.
They hope that some innovation will aim to emphasize developing human talents that machines cannot match and help humans partner with technology.
They say some parts of the ecosystem will focus on providing real-time learning to workers, often in self-paced formats.
Ideas that commonly occur among responses in this category are collected below under headings that reflect subtopics.
More learning systems will migrate online
Some will be self-directed and others offered or required by employers; others will be hybrid online/real-world classes. Workers are expected to continually learn
Most experts appear to have faith that rapid technological development and growing caution about the coming impacts of the AI and robotics revolution will spur the public, private and government actions necessary for education and training systems to adapt. to offer more flexible, open services and adaptive, resilient, certifiable and useful lifelong learning.
New educational forms for the next generation
Educators have always found new ways to train the next generation of students for the jobs of the future, and this generation will be no different, according to Justin Reich
Michael Wollowski, associate professor of computer science at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, commented: “We will definitely see a big increase in educational and training programs. We will also look at what might be called on-demand or on-the-job training programs. (In some ways we have to, as with continued automation, we will need to retrain a large portion of the workforce.) I firmly believe that employers will subscribe to this idea wholeheartedly; increases the overall education of your workforce, which benefits your bottom line. However, I firmly believe in the college experience, which I see as a way to learn who you are, as a person and in your field of study. Confidence in oneself and one’s abilities cannot be learned in a short course. You need life experience, or four years at a difficult university. At a good university, you are challenged to do your best; “This is resource-intensive and cannot be scaled up at this time.”
Justin Reich, executive director of the Teaching Systems Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), observed: “Educators have always found new ways to train the next generation of students for the jobs of the future, and this generation will be no different. . Our established workforce training systems, primarily community colleges and state universities, will continue to play a crucial role, although the catastrophic decline in public support for these institutions will pose serious challenges.”
David Karger, a computer science professor at MIT, wrote: “Most of what we now call online learning is nothing more than glorified textbooks, but the future is very bright. …No matter how good our online teaching systems are, the current four-year university model will remain dominant for quite some time. …Online teaching will increase the reach of top universities, putting pressure on lower-tier universities to prove their value. A potential future would be for those universities to abandon the idea that they have professors who teach their own courses and instead consist entirely of a group of (less well-paid) teaching assistants who provide support to students taking online courses.”
A few respondents said established institutions cannot be as successful as new initiatives
Jerry Michalski, founder of REX, commented: “Current educational and training institutions are a disaster. It takes them too long to teach impractical skills and knowledge that are not connected to the real world, and when they try to address critical thinking over a longer period of time, they more often than not fail. The buds of the next generation of learning tools are already visible. Within a decade, new shoots will outnumber the withered vines and we will see all sorts of new initiatives, mostly outside of these mostly irreparable scholastic, academic and training institutions. People will use them because they work, because they are much less expensive and because they are always available.”
One anonymous respondent echoed the sentiment of many others who do not believe it is possible to advance and improve online education and training much in the next decade, writing: “These programs come at a cost and very few are willing to sacrifice for them.” these. programs.” More such arguments are included in later sections of this report.
Online courses will get a big boost thanks to advances in augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI)
Some respondents expressed confidence in today’s best online education and training options, saying that online course options are cost-effective, evolving for the better, and game-changing because they are globally accessible.
Those with more optimism expect great strides to be made in augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and AI. While some say 2026 will still be the “early days” for this technology, many are excited about its prospects for improving learning in the coming decade.
Today there are already quite effective online training and education systems, but they are not being implemented to their full potential. Eduardo Friedman
The president of a technology LLC wrote: “Training and teaching are done online, in part due to the high costs of on-campus education.”
Richard Adler, Distinguished Fellow at the Institute for the Future, predicted that «AI, voice response, VR telepresence, and gamification techniques will come together to create powerful new learning environments capable of personalizing and accelerating learning across a broad spectrum.» range of fields».
Ray Schroeder, associate vice chancellor for online learning at the University of Illinois, Springfield, commented: “Those entering the workforce today are projected to pursue four or five different careers (not just jobs) over their lifetime. These professional changes will require re-equipment, training and education. Adult students will not be able to visit physical campuses to access this learning; They will learn online. I hope we see further development of AI teaching specialists like “Jill Watson” at Georgia Tech, the virtual graduate assistant that an entire class of computer science students thought was human. She anticipated further development and distribution of holoportation technologies such as those developed by Microsoft using HoloLens for real-time three-dimensional augmented reality. These teaching tools will enable highly sophisticated interactions and engagements with distance learners. “They will further drive the expansion of learning to reach even more massive online classes.”
Fredric Litto, professor emeritus of communications and distance education expert at the University of São Paulo, responded: “There is no field of work that cannot be learned, in whole or in part, in well-organized and managed online programs. whether in traditional ‘course’ formats or in independent, self-directed learning opportunities, supplemented, where appropriate, with face-to-face practice situations.»
Tawny Schlieski, director of research at Intel and chair of the Oregon Story Board, explained: “New human-computer interaction technologies, such as virtual and augmented reality, offer the possibility of entirely new education mechanisms. …Virtual and augmented reality tools…make learning more experiential, engage students with physical movement, and enable interactive and responsive educational resources. As these tools evolve over the next decade, the academics we work with expect to see radical changes in workforce training and development, which will carry over (although likely over a longer term) to larger higher education institutions. traditional”.
Universities still have special roles to play in preparing people for life, but some are likely to diversify and differentiate
Many respondents said real-world, campus-based higher education will continue to thrive over the next decade. Overall, they expect that no other educational experience will be able to match residential colleges’ capabilities for fully immersive, person-to-person learning, as well as tutoring and socialization functions, before 2026.
They said a residential college education helps develop intangible skills that are not replicable. online and thus deepens the skills base of those who can afford to pay for such education but expect job-specific training to be administered by employers on the job and through novel approaches.
Some say that the core content of online courses from major universities, developed with all the conveniences of new technologies, will be marketed globally and adopted as core learning in smaller places of higher education, where the online elements of the Major MOOCs can be optimally combined in hybrid learning. with face-to-face tutoring activities.
The most important skills to have in life are obtained through interpersonal experiences and the liberal arts
“Human bodies in close proximity to other human bodies stimulate true compassion, empathy, vulnerability, and social-emotional intelligence,” says Frank Elavsky.
Uta Russmann, professor of communications, marketing and sales at the FHWien University of Applied Sciences in Vienna, Austria, said: “In the future, more and more jobs will require highly sophisticated people whose skills cannot be trained in ‘massive’ online programs. . Traditional four-year and graduate programs will better prepare people for the jobs of the future, as such education gives people a general understanding and knowledge about their field, and here people learn how to approach new things, ask questions and finding answers, dealing with new situations, etc. – all this is necessary to adapt to continuous changes in work life. On the job you will learn special skills for a particular job.”
Frank Elavsky, data and policy analyst at Acumen LLC, responded: “The most important skills to have in life are gained through interpersonal experiences and the liberal arts. …Human bodies in close proximity to other human bodies stimulate true compassion, empathy, vulnerability, and social-emotional intelligence. It is imperative to focus on these skills as the future risks losing them from the workforce. Many people have acquired these skills throughout history without any formal education, but with the increasing emphasis on virtual and digital means of production, education and commerce, people will have less and less exposure to other humans in person and to other human perspectives.”
Dana Klisanin, a psychologist and futurist at Evolutionary Guidance Media R&D, wrote: “Successful educational institutions will use the tools of social media and game design to give students access to teachers around the world and increase their motivation to learn.” succeed. …Online educational programs will influence the accreditation systems of traditional institutions, and online institutions will increasingly offer meetings and meetings such that a truly hybrid educational approach emerges.”
Theme 2: Students must cultivate 21st century skills, abilities and attributes
Will training the most important skills for jobs of the future work well in large-scale environments by 2026?
Respondents in this survey overwhelmingly said yes, anticipating that improvements in such education would continue.
However, many believe that the most vital skills are not easy to teach, learn or evaluate in any educational or training environment available today.
Hard-to-teach intangible skills, abilities and attributes, such as emotional intelligence, curiosity, creativity, adaptability, resilience and critical thinking, will be most valued.
Respondents applied dozens of descriptive terms when pointing out the skills, abilities and attributes they consider important in the lives of workers in the next decade.
The skills needed to be successful in today’s world and in the future are:
– curiosity.
– the creativity.
– The initiative.
– multidisciplinary thinking.
– empathy.
These skills, interestingly, are specific skills of humans that machines and robots cannot do, as Tiffany Shlain states.
While coding and other “hard skills” were listed as the easiest to teach to a large group in an online environment, most respondents considered “soft” and “human” skills to be crucial for survival in the era of artificial intelligence and robotics.
Devin Fidler, research director at the Institute for the Future, predicted: “As basic automation and machine learning become commoditized, uniquely human skills will become more valuable. “There will be an increasing economic incentive to develop mass training that better unlocks this value.”
Susan Price, digital architect at Continuum Analytics, commented: “Increasingly, machines will perform tasks they are better equipped to do than humans, such as computing, data analysis and logic. Roles that require emotional intelligence, empathy, compassion, and creative judgment and discernment will expand and become increasingly valued in our culture.”
Tiffany Shlain, filmmaker and founder of the Webby Awards, wrote: “The skills needed to succeed in today’s world and in the future are curiosity, creativity, initiative, multidisciplinary thinking and empathy. Interestingly, these skills are human-specific skills that machines and robots cannot develop, and you can be taught to strengthen these skills through education. “I look forward to seeing innovative live and online programs that can teach them at scale.”
Ben Shneiderman, a computer science professor at the University of Maryland, observed: “Students can be trained to be more innovative, creative, and active initiators of novel ideas. Writing, speaking, and video-making skills are important, but the foundational skills of critical thinking, community building, teamwork, deliberation/dialogue, and conflict resolution will be powerful. A mentality of perseverance and the passion necessary to succeed are also essential.”
Louisa Heinrich, Founder of Superhuman Limited, commented: “Lateral and systems thinking skills are increasingly critical to success in an ever-changing global landscape, and will need to be reprioritised at all levels of education.”
An anonymous technologist commented: “Programming and problem solving, learning to work with artificial intelligence and robotics will become more important, and more and more workers will be replaced by software/hardware-based ‘workers’. Automation will reduce the need for these. current workforce, and the division between the upper class and the lower class will continue to devour the middle class.”
Those who remain pessimistic
Some who are pessimistic about the future of human work due to advances in artificial intelligence and robotics mocked the current push in the United States to train more people in technical skills. An anonymous respondent commented: «Teach a billion people to program and you’ll end up with 900,000,000 unemployed programmers.»
An anonymous program director at a major US technology funding organization predicted: “We will see training for the jobs of the past and for service jobs. The jobs of the future will not require large numbers of workers with a fixed set of skills; For most of the things we can train large numbers of workers to do, we will also be able to train computers to work better.”
Among the many other skills mentioned are:
– process and systems oriented thinking.
– journalistic skills, including research, evaluating multiple sources, writing and public speaking.
– understanding of algorithms, computational thinking, networks and programming.
– understand law and policy.
– an evidence-based way of seeing the world.
– time management.
– conflict resolution.
– decision making.
– locate information in the avalanche of data.
– tell stories using data.
– influence and create consensus.
Some people mentioned that young adults need to be taught how to have face-to-face interaction, including one who said they “seem to be severely lacking in these skills and can only interact with a cell phone or laptop.”
Hands-on experiential learning through apprenticeships and mentoring will advance
Because many workplace complexities—the human, the soft, and the hard—are learned on the job, respondents said they expect apprenticeships and forms of mentoring to regain value and evolve alongside the workplace of the century. XXI.
- Yvette Wohn, assistant professor of information systems at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, wrote: “Formalized apprenticeships that require both technical skills and interpersonal interaction will be more important.”
Ian O’Byrne, assistant professor of literacy at the College of Charleston, responded: “In the future we will see more personalized online learning opportunities. This will include open and online learning experiences (e.g. MOOCs) where people can pursue and develop skills or satisfy interests. I also believe we will see an increase in the offering of premium or paid content that creates a space where one-on-one learning and interaction will allow mentors to guide students while providing critical feedback.
We will identify opportunities to build a digital version of the learning learning models that have existed in the past.
Alternative credentials and digital badges will provide more granular opportunities to document and archive learning over time from traditional and non-traditional learning sources.
“Through evolving technologies (e.g., blockchain), this can provide opportunities for students to document and frame their own learning paths.”
An instructional designer with 19 years of experience commented: “The pattern I see is toward individualized learning, almost at the level of tutoring or apprenticeship. We’ve seen time and time again that the broader the focus on the audience, the less the course seems to offer. As for what the skills of the future are, they will be specialized in their fields with a college degree that is supposed to be a certificate of the ability to learn more about a particular specialty. You might get a degree in computer software development, but the truth is you still need to be taught how to write software for, say, the mortgage company or insurance company that hires you. The key to the future will be flexibility and personal motivation to learn and experiment with new things.”
Theme 3: New accreditation systems will emerge as self-directed learning expands
As they anticipate the emergence of new effective learning environments and advances in digital accountability systems, many of these experts believe that new certification programs will be created to attest to workers’ participation in training programs and mastery of the abilities.
Some predict that many more workers will begin using online and app-based learning systems.
While the traditional university degree will still prevail in 2026, more employers may accept alternative accreditation systems as learning options and measures evolve.
Charlie Firestone, executive director of the communications and society program and vice president of the Aspen Institute, responded: “There will be a movement toward better and more accurate credentialing of skills and competencies, for example, badges and similar techniques. Employers will be more accepting of them as they become evidentiary. And online learning will become more prevalent, even as a complement to formal classroom learning. New industries such as green energy and telemedicine will increase new employment opportunities. Despite all these measures, job losses due to artificial intelligence and robotics will outweigh any recycling program, at least in the short term.”
Sam Punnett, head of research at TableRock Media, wrote: “I suspect employers will recognize the new accreditation systems. In particular, those certificates awarded for studies in emerging disciplines (data science is currently “in fashion”) and those that reflect an improvement in previously acquired skills. Traditional credentials will still have value, but I believe they will be considered in light of the candidate’s perceived ability to «learn to learn.» The four-year degree and subsequent graduate studies will still be less of a guarantee of getting a job without it. Work experience. …Certificates are viewed more favorably and many universities are falling behind in connecting their pedagogies to the requirements of the world of work.”
William J. Ward, university professor of communications, commented: “Higher education is not doing a good job of preparing students with the skills they need to succeed in the world of work. Online and accreditation systems are more transparent and work better in transferring skills. People with new types of accreditation systems are considered more qualified than traditional four-year and graduate programs.”
Proof of competency may be in real-world job portfolios
Many workplaces place more value on real-world job portfolios than a degree or certification, yet their hiring systems – including artificial intelligence robots programmed to scan resumes – still use commonly accepted credentials as a basis for interview candidates. Some respondents hope to see changes.
Nowadays, schools produce widget makers that can create widgets anyway. They rely on producing single correct answers rather than creative solutions.Jeff Jarvis
A software engineering and systems administration professional commented: “The reliability of the traditional education system is already being questioned; In some fields it is considered common sense that certifications and degrees mean little, and that a portfolio, references, and practical interviews are much more important.” most important in evaluating a candidate’s ability. The unfortunate reality is that many human resources departments still post job openings that say degrees and certifications are required, as a way to screen candidates. Both cost a lot of money and neither means much to a candidate’s competence. I hope this changes (both job openings and the quality of degrees/certifications), but I don’t see that happening anytime soon.”
Meryl Krieger, a career specialist at Indiana University, Bloomington’s Jacobs School, responded: “Accreditation systems will involve both portfolios and resumes; Resumes are simply too two-dimensional to adequately communicate a person’s skill set. Three-dimensional materials – in essence, work reels – that demonstrate expertise will be the ultimate demonstration of an individual worker’s skills. I see credentials as part of a very complex set of criteria; These will also incorporate an individual’s ability to communicate and work with teams (very important in new employee applications by employers), which can be more easily documented and tracked through online portfolio tools than through traditional resume formats. Therefore, the educational and training programs of the future will become (in the best incarnations of it) sophisticated combinations of classroom and practical training programs. Specific models will necessarily respond to individual industry requirements.”
Jeff Jarvis, a professor at the City University of New York School of Journalism, wrote: “Today, schools produce gadget manufacturers who can make them anyway. They rely on producing single correct answers rather than creative solutions. They rely on an old-fashioned attention economy: Pay us for 45 hours of your attention and we’ll certify your knowledge. I believe that many (not all) areas of instruction should move to competency-based education in which the necessary outcomes are clear and students are given multiple paths to achieve those outcomes, and are certified not based on tests and grades. , but rather portfolios of their work that demonstrate their knowledge.”
While the top three themes found among the responses to this survey were mostly hopeful about advances in education and training for 21st century jobs, a large portion of the responses from leading experts reflect a significant degree of pessimism for several reasons. reasons.
Some even say that the future of jobs for humans is so dire that capitalism may fail as an economic system. The following themes and subthemes examine these responses.
Theme 4: Training and learning systems will not meet the needs of the 21st century in 2026
A large portion of respondents predicted that online formats for knowledge transfer will not advance significantly in the next decade.
The 30% who expressed pessimism often had deep doubts about the ability of current education systems to adapt and pivot to respond to new challenges as quickly as necessary.
Interestingly, almost all participants in this survey considered the ability to adapt and respond to impending challenges to be one of the most valued future capabilities;
These respondents especially agree that it is important and say that our human institutions (government, business, education) are not adapting efficiently and are letting us down. Many of them say that current K-12 or K-16 educational programs are unable to make adjustments in the next decade to meet the changing needs of future labor markets.
Among the other reasons listed by people who do not expect these types of transformative advances in job creation and improving job skills:
– It may not be possible to train workers for future skills, for many reasons, including that there will not be jobs to train them or that jobs change too quickly.
– There is no “political will,” nor is there evidence that leaders will provide funding for a large-scale improvement in training. Several observed that if advances in education cannot be monetized with the appropriate profit margin, they do not advance.
– Many workers are unable or unwilling to make the self-directed sacrifices they must make to adjust their skills.
– The “soft” skills, abilities and attitudes that respondents assume will be needed in future workers are difficult to teach en masse or at all, and question how any teaching scheme can instill such sophisticated traits in large numbers of workers.
Some among the 70% of respondents who are largely optimistic about the future of employment training also echoed one or more of the points above: They mentioned these points of tension while hoping for the best.
Below are representative statements related to these points and more from all respondents.
In the coming decade, education systems will not be up to the task of adapting to train or retrain people in the skills that are likely to be most valued in the future.
Thomas Claburn, editor-at-large of Information Week, wrote: «I am skeptical that educational and training programs can keep pace with technology.»
Traditional models train people to equate what they do with who they are (i.e., what they want to be when they grow up) rather than acquiring critical thinking and flexible skills and attitudes that adapt to a rapidly changing world. Pamela Rutledge
Andrew Walls, executive vice president at Gartner, wrote: “Unless there is a breakthrough in neuroscience that allows us to embed knowledge and skills directly into brain tissue and muscle formation, there will not be a quantum leap in our ability to “improve.” “abilities” of people.
Learning takes time and practice, which means it takes money, a lot of money, to significantly change the skill set of a large cohort.”
- Remy Cross, assistant professor of sociology at Webster University, commented: “In the absence of a significant advance in machine learning that could lead to further advances in adaptive responses using a fully online system, it is too difficult to adequately instruct a large number of people in the types of soft skills that are expected to be in greatest demand. As manufacturing and many labor-intensive jobs move offshore or become fully mechanized, we will see an increase in service jobs. This requires good interpersonal skills, something that is often difficult to train online.”