AI vs Public Education

It’s becoming increasingly clear to me why schools don’t allow the use of ChatGPT or other AI models for academic work. They see it as a threat to our current education system. But isn’t it time for a change in our public education systems? The Fortune 500 companies do.

This year, one-third of Fortune 500 companies have removed the requirement for a college degree for new hires. Many others are following this trend.

Commentary suggests that graduates are not entering the workforce prepared. So where are people supposed to acquire these skills? Typically, these skills are learned through real-world applications, hands-on learning, or other educational means. As technology evolves, particularly with the advent of Large Language Models (LLMs) and AI, our ability to access the right information at the right time in the format we need is more of a reality than ever before. Until now, the consumption of information was constrained by the way it was programmed for us to consume.

Speaking of consuming content the way it was programmed, my kids often laugh when I tell them that when I was their age, I had to go to a CD store and spend $25 to buy a CD just for one song I wanted. They take Spotify and iTunes for granted, with any song ever created at their fingertips with a quick search.

Here’s an example of how the consumption of information has changed over generations. When I was a child and had to do a book report, I had to go to the library. My family couldn’t afford a set of the Encyclopedia Britannica at home. At the library, we used the Dewey Decimal System cards to find what we were looking for, and then we searched for the books on the shelves, which someone had taken the time to write and publish. The library had purchased and stocked those books specifically for us to use when we needed to do reports on topics like the water cycle, complete with fancy clouds and pretend rivers for our dioramas.

By the time I was in college, the internet had grown enough that static web pages could replace trips to the library for research. I could search thousands of websites on a given topic. Search engines like Yahoo and Google made it easy to find the information I needed. RIP Dewey Decimal System; I miss you already.

Speaking of the Dewey Decimal System, remember when math teachers insisted we learn to solve equations by hand without a calculator? They’d say, “You won’t always have a calculator in your pocket…” Well, that’s not the case anymore with the invention of the cell phone. The child in me wants to find my old teachers on Facebook to tell them, “Thanks for nothing! I have no idea how to find sine and cosine for a graphed line anymore.” Also, who remembers their teenager’s new cell phone number?

Why don’t we remember these things? Technology has made it so easy to retrieve information that memorizing it has become obsolete for most people. Finding answers is a task that technology now handles. Why don’t we remember phone numbers anymore? Why don’t we take the time to memorize these details? Why does a society that once relied on memorization for survival no longer need to possess that skill? Because technology has evolved to make those skills unnecessary. We can now call our kids by simply saying, “Hey Siri, call Korbin’s cell.” Instead of using brainpower to memorize phone numbers, we use our cognitive skills to send snaps or GIFs to our kids while flying at 30,000 feet. We’ve adapted to new ways of existing and communicating in today’s tech-integrated world, while the older generation struggles to keep up with their grandkids. This cycle repeats throughout human history.

So what do cell phones and changing technology have to do with AI and LLMs? It’s about accessing information in the way you want, when you want, and in the most convenient form. AI allows you to take the entire digital world and present any information you need, tailored to your preferences, eliminating the need for memorization. So how does this relate to education?

When I graduated from college, people would ask what I learned in school. During that time, I got married, had three kids, and worked a full-time job. Naturally, my answer was, “I learned how to find answers to questions.” I am very grateful for that education, which I credit for my modestly successful career. I didn’t have time to memorize the names of the body parts of a frog in my general biology class. I had three kids to raise, and remembering their names and what they would eat for dinner was about all my brain could handle after coming home from a full-time job and preparing for my online classes.

So where do people go these days to find answers? You guessed it: AI tools. Where do people go for education to acquire job-specific skills? Again, it’s educational platforms that teach you how to find precise answers, now often powered by AI tools. So why do our education systems discourage kids from using the tools necessary to be competitive in today’s economy? Because a significant part of the educational system is being replaced by advancing technology, and they haven’t yet figured out how to pivot to provide the tools and education needed to leverage these advancements.

Education should be about equipping people with the skills to find answers and teach themselves in the way they learn best. Just as I learned about the water cycle through the Dewey Decimal System and passed my online college courses with the help of the internet, we need to teach our kids to find information using the tools available and to learn in the ways that work best for them. Imagine graduating from college without ever learning how to use the internet for information. On your first day at work, you’re assigned a project. As you head out to the library to gather information, your colleague has already found the answer online before you even walked to your car.