This blog is about a prediction and that prediction is that AI (Artificial Intelligence) is going to have a major impact on colleges.
In a prior blog, I proposed that because of the impact of the Covid-19 virus on education that it is going to cause a total rethinking about colleges and diplomas. I pointed out that colleges have a choke hold on students because employers demand graduation diplomas before they will consider a person for a position. I think that is changing and will change even faster in the future. The fact is that this new "WOC" movement has caused colleges to add all kinds of worthless liberal classes to their requirements for graduation. It is even happening in high schools in California. When colleges add something, they have to take away something. This adds to the cost and student's calendar time that it takes to get a degree.
Right now the employers and much of society have bought into the way college degrees are awarded and that is the problem. If there were a good alternative, it is my position that the power that colleges hold over students and their parents as well as employers would be greatly reduced or eliminated. The problem is how can that change take place? I think that if society would harness AI that it could be the spark that caused the needed change. Here is how I think it might work. The selection and recruitment of new employees is complex. We all know that. With AI, I think that it would be possible to evaluate the employer's needs and also to properly analyse the potential candidates. AI could make it own evaluation of candidates, with or without a degree, such that they would better match the needs of the employer. The current procedures are such a mish mash that most employers depend on college degrees for their evaluations. This is what gives so much power to the colleges and cost the students more than it should.
If this were to work out, think of how it would revolutionize education? Students and their parents would determine what classes they would need to take rather than the college for their degree. It would save valuable calendar time and money for everyone. We now have over 1.5 trillion dollars of student debit, much of which will never be paid back. If we could by pass the degree business, I think that we would be talking about a trillion dollar savings that would continue over time. Remember that it would also add 3% to 5% to the working life of a student. We are talking about big money here. It is like having a work force that is 5% bigger, or better yet, the work force would be a larger percentage of the population.
Let me explain that point a little further. Let's say that we start off with a model where 50% of the people are working and 50% are not. That means that 50% of the people have to feed and care for the other 50%. Now, what if there was a system where people worked longer? If the impact was now that 53% of people were producers, then only 47% had to be cared for.. Here is the math. Before, we have 50%/50% = 1.0 and after we have 53%/47%=1.128. That would work out to be a 12.8% more wealth to care for those not working. That is a big deal.
Sure, to run a plan like this with AI would be complicated, I think that it is clearly one way to significantly improve the quality of life here in the USA and isn't that the objective? The way we are going now with more and more dependency on degrees and diplomas, it is only going to get worse and more of our wealth is going to be wasted by the power we have trusted to our colleges.
PS--On of the problems that employers may have is the "boot camp factor". That is where someone had to do some kind of "boot camp" so they expect everyone else to do the same. Most people are against those who jump the line or take short cuts, but I think this is different. I think that "head hunters" might be the ones who actually kick off this concept. I think that high school career advisors might be a problem too. I have found them to be incompetent and avid union members and thus this would work against the teacher's union objectives.
In a prior blog, I proposed that because of the impact of the Covid-19 virus on education that it is going to cause a total rethinking about colleges and diplomas. I pointed out that colleges have a choke hold on students because employers demand graduation diplomas before they will consider a person for a position. I think that is changing and will change even faster in the future. The fact is that this new "WOC" movement has caused colleges to add all kinds of worthless liberal classes to their requirements for graduation. It is even happening in high schools in California. When colleges add something, they have to take away something. This adds to the cost and student's calendar time that it takes to get a degree.
Right now the employers and much of society have bought into the way college degrees are awarded and that is the problem. If there were a good alternative, it is my position that the power that colleges hold over students and their parents as well as employers would be greatly reduced or eliminated. The problem is how can that change take place? I think that if society would harness AI that it could be the spark that caused the needed change. Here is how I think it might work. The selection and recruitment of new employees is complex. We all know that. With AI, I think that it would be possible to evaluate the employer's needs and also to properly analyse the potential candidates. AI could make it own evaluation of candidates, with or without a degree, such that they would better match the needs of the employer. The current procedures are such a mish mash that most employers depend on college degrees for their evaluations. This is what gives so much power to the colleges and cost the students more than it should.
If this were to work out, think of how it would revolutionize education? Students and their parents would determine what classes they would need to take rather than the college for their degree. It would save valuable calendar time and money for everyone. We now have over 1.5 trillion dollars of student debit, much of which will never be paid back. If we could by pass the degree business, I think that we would be talking about a trillion dollar savings that would continue over time. Remember that it would also add 3% to 5% to the working life of a student. We are talking about big money here. It is like having a work force that is 5% bigger, or better yet, the work force would be a larger percentage of the population.
Let me explain that point a little further. Let's say that we start off with a model where 50% of the people are working and 50% are not. That means that 50% of the people have to feed and care for the other 50%. Now, what if there was a system where people worked longer? If the impact was now that 53% of people were producers, then only 47% had to be cared for.. Here is the math. Before, we have 50%/50% = 1.0 and after we have 53%/47%=1.128. That would work out to be a 12.8% more wealth to care for those not working. That is a big deal.
Sure, to run a plan like this with AI would be complicated, I think that it is clearly one way to significantly improve the quality of life here in the USA and isn't that the objective? The way we are going now with more and more dependency on degrees and diplomas, it is only going to get worse and more of our wealth is going to be wasted by the power we have trusted to our colleges.
PS--On of the problems that employers may have is the "boot camp factor". That is where someone had to do some kind of "boot camp" so they expect everyone else to do the same. Most people are against those who jump the line or take short cuts, but I think this is different. I think that "head hunters" might be the ones who actually kick off this concept. I think that high school career advisors might be a problem too. I have found them to be incompetent and avid union members and thus this would work against the teacher's union objectives.
