The end of education as we know it…

Greetings Homo Sapiens v1.0

Brace for a byte-sized dive into AI's impact on education.

Today, we're talking about how AI will shake up education – honestly; I think my daughter might skip University altogether, with GPT-like AIs snatching up jobs left and right.

Heads up, we're keepin' it short 'n sweet today as I have a busy travel schedule this week.

AI will ruin education in 5 years or less

Since the launch of this newsletter, it has become apparent to me that education, as we have known it for 150 years, is about to change dramatically!

If I owned a private university or an educational institution, I would be peeing my pants right now…

I became a father 9 years ago, and my grandmother, now 95 years old, gave my daughter a money gift for her university degree.

Bless her.

But I did not have the heart to tell her that I personally do not believe education will be necessary or relevant in 18-20 years.

I did not even try explaining the concept of inflation…

In short, I put the money into a property/land instead (and I was right about inflation).

In my humble opinion, the introduction of ChatGPT 4 months ago has proved me right about education…

Sure, if my daughter wants to become a ballerina, vet, or nurse, she would need schooling.

But many jobs and industries will change dramatically in the coming years.

Since ChatGPT was released into the wild at the end of November 2022, we have seen teachers expressing their frustrations with kids using the tool to do their homework or university students using it to write their papers.

We only hear about the ones getting caught, though.

I bet many get away with it.

Albeit, I guess it is more complicated now, as it seems the schools and universities have woken up to the fact that there is a “bastard” in the wild helping students shortcut their education.

The debate is ongoing about what to do with ChatGPT and AI.

Fight it, or embrace it.

The fact is, this is like a tsunami coming toward the shore.

The water is rising, and you can see something is going on.

If you stay, the ocean will swallow you.

If you react according to what is happening, you stand a chance against the waves.

Yesterday I came across a Reddit post by a teacher who decided to embrace ChatGPT instead of trying to “hide” that it exists.

He said he would delete his account, so it might be gone by now...

He took the approach of teaching the students how it works and how it can help them while at the same time showing that what comes out isn’t always correct.

I think the post represents how many teachers feel about AI.

I have seen many similar posts about ChatGPT/AI, both positively and negatively.

I have a feeling that humans are inherently lazy.

I might be wrong, of course.

But it feels to me that if we can shortcut something, many will.

Thus, if we all have access to an AI so powerful it can basically do almost anything for us inside Microsoft 365 (Word/Excel, etc.), Google Workspace (Goole Docs/Sheets, etc.), Canva (images and posters), Midjourney (images), Descript (video editing), or Adobe (graphic design), why do we need an education?

I mean, past the basics of reading, writing, and math, do we need the rest?

I understand that school is formative in many ways.

Some claim it is put in place to shape kids according to a “one size fits all” mold and kill all independence, creativity, and individuality.

Personally, I fall somewhere between.

But what about the golden goose?

Higher education…

I have a computer science degree.

I studied for 7 years at private universities in 3 countries (with a student loan to prove it).

I have not done much coding in the last 20 years, except for some basic things on a few web pages.

In the comment field of the Reddit post, a guy “similar to me” posted this:

I think this comment encapsulates the power of ChatGPT and AI.

It can do so many things quickly, in a manner of seconds, that can take you weeks or months to do.

On top of that, it can explain to you - spoon-feed you answers - without getting annoyed or impatient.

I think this patient teacher can and will work in all fields.

As this reply points out, it facilitates learning without judgment.

Some academics are just flat-out horrible teachers unable to communicate with “normies” and translate their knowledge into the real world.

I cannot count how often I have been frustrated with professors at various universities.

And they are everywhere!

Honestly, some of them should not be allowed out of their research labs…

ChatGPT and AI solve this problem!

All of the above is focused on math and coding.

But I think it all translates to most areas of education.

Just look at all the tests ChatGPT has passed!

The Internet was a significant societal shift, giving us “information at our fingertips.”

But it still requires skills to find the information in a sea of billions of web pages.

With ChatGPT and AI, you simply ask (prompt), and you have the answer in seconds.

Answers. Code. Instructions. Recipes. How-tos.

You name it, ChatGPT will most likely provide it for you.

The crazy part is that Microsoft will implement this powerful “brain” into all PCs this year.

It is just a matter of time before Apple do the same (though they need to do better than Siri - I’m sure they are working on it…)

And I am guessing that most mobile phones will have a dedicated AI assistant installed within a year.

The development of AI is so rapid and all-encompassing that why to study anything?

By the time you graduate, whatever to “learned” will be obsolete - or there will be a device that can assist you in performing that task without prior skills in seconds…

It begs the question, why would you spend years of your life and a bunch of $$ to get a degree when your personal AI assistant can do “everything” for you?

Of course, education is going to change.

There is no way around it.

But how will it change?

I don’t know…

Will it be reduced to something you only need if you want to become a doctor, vet, nurse, researcher, mechanic, plumber, butcher, and a few more?

Even if I try, I cannot see any industry not affected by AI.

And since it will affect everything, education, as the “core” of society, will crumble…

It just does not make much sense to me to spend years and lots of money to learn something that a $20/month tool can do better, faster, and without prejudice and judgment.

It will never replace compassion and care, you say?

Have a look below!

This is not the future.

This is 2023.

Recently the AI companion Replika changed their algorithm.

The algorithm update - accidentally or purposefully - changed the behavior and personality of the AI companions, leading to many people losing their “love” and mourning their loss.

I know - this is sad on so many levels…

My point is that the lines are getting blurred more and faster…

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That’s all I have for you today.

I hope this gave you some food for thought.

What do you think?

Is education dead?

Hit reply and share your thoughts!

I am also on Twitter: @thomassorheim 

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AI’ll be back!

Thomas

PS! 
How do you get straight A's in school?

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.

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By using a ruler, of course!

This is not the end. It is where the fun begins!