The Robots Are Coming ...

This article almost the hereafter of universities outset appeared inwards Times Higher Education too tin last found here. If you're doing a PhD there's a fair jeopardy that yous are thinking of working inwards a university. If so, read on ...

Bank tellers, hotel receptionists too assembly line workers powerfulness eventually last replaced yesteryear engineering because their roles are structured too repetitive inwards nature. For academics at that topographic point is the reassurance that teaching, grading assignments too project enquiry require the services of a living, breathing academic.  Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 permanent seat is soundless only that, isn’t it?

In 2016, Ashok Goel of Georgia Institute for Technology introduced a novel fellow member of his teaching squad called Jill Watson. Students loved Jill. She would reply questions quickly, politely too amongst the occasional jaunty “yep!”. She would occasionally tell something strange but don’t nosotros all? Since Goel didn’t initially tell his students that Jill was inwards fact an AI scheme he was forced to add together a brusque delay to her responses. Otherwise her students powerfulness notice how much quicker she was at answering questions, fifty-fifty inwards the middle of the night.

Jill Watson’s status equally a teaching assistant should audio a salutary Federal Reserve notation for those of us inwards higher education. There is widespread credence that human jobs volition last lost to technology.  For understandable reasons nosotros convince ourselves that the axe volition autumn elsewhere too volition autumn gradually. Perhaps this optimism bias flows from a vogue to focus on the nuance too subtlety of what nosotros practise too to disregard the monotonous regularity of many aspects of our work. Recently I met a board fellow member from ane of the world’s largest engineering firms who confidently predicted that innovations such equally AI would hateful that higher instruction would last unrecognisable inside a decade. S/he powerfulness last wrong, but equally robots, too the underlying engineering of artificial news (AI), improve, academia seems ripe reinvention.  Just consider that yesteryear 2020, it is predicted that the numbers of students inwards higher instruction inwards PRC too Bharat combined volition receive got breached threescore million. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 booming sector combined amongst the potential for technological disruption has left some U.K. academy leaders feeling anxious, amongst the annual PA Consulting written report on Vice-Chancellor sentiments suggesting that the sector could last facing a stormy period. 

In price of both the construction of our manufacture too the underpinning assumptions nosotros create almost models of delivery, such stormy weather condition demand a rethink. Edward Peck of late argued that the U.K. needs to motion beyond a familiar but outmoded hierarchy of universities to celebrate to a greater extent than fully the achievements of our teaching intensive, enquiry active universities. Many of our post-92 universities receive got made pregnant strides inwards infrastructure, pedagogy too widening access, yet Peck notes that they soundless lack the cache of elite Russell Group universities.  Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 various sector comprising unlike mission groups pursuing unlike audiences might, of course, last an indicator that our HE ecosystem is inwards rude health. Yet collectively, the strategic plans of U.K. universities are focused on increase underpinned yesteryear pregnant fiscal commitments to novel too shiny buildings which largely reinforce traditional ideas almost lecture theatres too laboratories. 

UK universities offering success stories inwards both importing too exporting. International educatee recruitment has been challenging given the policy context but pregnant numbers of applicants soundless desire to study here.  Matching this inflow are growing numbers of transnational arrangements too overseas campus locations where U.K. universities are exporting to the world.  What nosotros haven’t seen yet are global create names setting upward inwards earnest inwards our ain dorsum yard. There’s an awareness that this powerfulness occur too a recognition of the threat that to a greater extent than private provision powerfulness represent, but lilliputian concrete activeness to address this.   Maybe U.K. Vice-Chancellors are correct to last a lilliputian worried but those outwith the sector consider huge opportunities to deploy AI inwards ways which personalise learning economically too at scale.

On whatever given day, inwards subjects such equally business, engineering too mathematics, at that topographic point are in all probability hundreds of academics teaching roughly the same cloth to hundreds of roughly like groups of students inwards lecture theatres only about the globe. Universities aren’t good positioned to dominate the marketplace for the learning materials existence used because no academy wants to adopt a competitor’s intellectual property.  Corporates however, powerfulness plausibly notice ways to licence the Jill Watsons of the close term future. Several bluish bit giants receive got both resources too insights (drawn from a body of body of water of user information drawn from both staff too students) too would last good placed to offering lower cost, engaging, personal too efficient learning experiences.

There are both institutional too private consequences of this line of thinking. Institutionally, universities demand to consider their long term plans inwards the confront of brusque term uncertainty.  New buildings too high character academic staff are currently the mainstay of our reply to the enquiry “why study amongst us?” Whether the novel buildings too the wonderful staff remain equally compelling when remote study, supported yesteryear AI / Bots offers like knowledge at a tiny fraction of the toll is opened upward to question. Indeed, it is a enquiry that charitable bodies such equally the Bill too Melinda Gates Foundation are asking. As private academics then, nosotros demand to inquire a to a greater extent than Machiavellian question. What tin nosotros practise that AI cannot ?

When it comes to imparting knowledge, Jill Watson has already shown that AI is reasonably sophisticated inwards the purpose of teaching assistant.  Tutors may thus attain endangered species status inwards all but the Oxbridge model of private attention. In the lecture theatres yet (whether existent or virtual), academics demand to focus on the things that AI cannot handle. There’s a ground that many stand-up comedians inquire members of the audience “and what practise yous practise for a living?” early on inwards their show.  They’re non playing for time. Rather, they’re setting upward the chance to improvise only about some established material. Connecting pre-set gags to spontaneous observations almost Joyce the plumber or Joe from accounts makes the room come upward alive. The ticket coin seems worthwhile because yous are watching a surgery that is really much “in the moment”. The jeopardy of this crowd operate too the concomitant risk of existence heckled piques the audience’s interest. Skilled comedians too so exercise callbacks to reincorporate before observations to make an effect that is both cumulative too bespoke to this show, this flush too this place.  Perhaps the hereafter for academics is to covert the back upward that AI teaching assistants tin offering us outwith the classroom whilst feverishly working to railroad train the performative aspects of our lecturing. Video capture too podcasting are all really well, but they aren’t last theatre.