Missing the Plot – Focus on Broad Education, not Technology to Address AI Impacts

New technology always seems to capture people’s imagination.?New technology also inevitably leads to passionate debates about whether it is a “blessing or a curse.”?A passionate debate is undoubtedly happening in the case of generative AI.

AI proponents herald the benefits of AI, including its ability to analyze large data sets to answer questions more rapidly than humans.?However, many current AI critics rightly emphasize that AI’s current forms are prone to errors, and even its creators do not fully comprehend how the technology works or “learns” (i.e., the “black box” problem).?Still, other opponents prophesize that AI is an existential threat to mankind that will disrupt workplaces and replace experienced professionals leading to societal collapse.?Together, the detractors generally argue for pausing the development of AI until its impacts and implications are better understood.

However, this debate misses the plot by fixating on the wrong issue. ?Like other new or “disruptive” technologies, AI is a powerful tool that can be used or misused depending on the user. ?Moreover, like personal computers, mobile phones, or supersonic air travel, advances in AI technology will continue to advance despite the critics. ?Consequently, the real issue is the necessity of human interaction. ?

Without people, there are no creators or users of this new technology.?Moreover, people, not machines, will ultimately determine AI’s limits, benefits, and boundaries.?However, to do so, people, especially students, need strong research and writing tools and critical thinking skills to confront the societal challenges AI poses.?These tools and skills are neither new nor AI-specific but are in short supply.?Thus, the urgent and essential debate is how we ensure students possess the tools and skills to guide society’s development and use of AI wisely.

As an educator, lawyer, and industry consultant, I believe a reinvigorated education system is the answer.?However, it means moving towards an educational system prioritizing and valuing broad knowledge over focusing narrowly on task or job-oriented endpoints.?In other words, reinvigorating a general liberal arts curriculum.?

Although it may sound “old-fashioned” and out-of-touch with modernity, our country’s history provides an instructive lesson. ?For the most part, America still holds men like Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson in some measure of esteem.?These men had one thing in common.?They were well and broadly educated – Franklin was a scientist/inventor; Adams, a lawyer; and Jefferson, among other things, a botanist. ?But beyond their expertise, they were well-read on numerous topics, including political theory, mathematics, philosophy, ethics, and literature.?Applying that broad education, they met the challenge of developing a new form of government outlined by enduring documents like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

Harnessing the potential of AI for society’s benefit presents a similar challenge. ?Like the origin of America itself, there is no precise model to draw upon.?The essential interface between AI and humanity and its implications are beyond the scope of current information technology education, which focuses more on discrete topics like machine learning or coding. ?Thus, harnessing AI’s potential wisely requires a broader understanding of topics traditionally viewed in the domain of liberal arts, such as political theory, philosophy, and ethics.?Therefore, we must embrace this broader (i.e., liberal arts) knowledge as an urgent imperative to equip students, our society’s future leaders, with the necessary tools and skills to capitalize on AI’s positive benefits while minimizing harmful or unintended consequences.

#education, #ai #generativeai, #highereducationleadership #liberalarts